Autumn Leaves & Wake Me Up
by NotReallyMagical
Summary: Modern Day Merthur Reincarntion- includes sequel now! [Autumn Leaves:] Arthur is back. Now the only problem is trying to find him in modern day Los Angeles. And Merlin soon finds that Arthur isn't the only one who returned. "There is no way that I'm a legendary king." [Sequel- Wake Me Up:] "Piece of advice: killing an evil sorcerer doesn't necessarily mean he can't come back."
1. Chapter 1

Merlin rushed through the doors of the building, the bell chiming in his ears. Papers flew from his books as he ran- he would probably regret not picking those up later on, but he would more so regret being late for his first day of classes.

Going to university was a bit of a routine for Merlin- as was moving around the UK and changing his name continuously. But he'd gotten tired of university and decided to give high school a try, the same went for the UK. He was now known as Miles Wyatt, sixteen year old high school student living in Los Angeles, USA.

He decided on using aliases after the "Arthurian legends" became a subject for kids to learn in school. Merlin thought it was funny because a lot of the stories they told had false information. But still, running around with the name "Merlin" would most likely cause some suspicion, because some people believe that Arthur will be reincarnated. And he didn't want to be parading around with the name Merlin, even if he could convince people that it was a coincidence, or that he was named after Merlin. No, having an alias was much easier.

He didn't know why he came to this high school- well, boarding school, he was being housed on-site- but he just felt something pulling him here. Maybe this is where he would finally be reunited with Arthur, his friend who had died a thousand years ago. Maybe now was finally the time he would see him again. Though it didn't make much sense that he would be in America. Wouldn't he still be in England? But, Kilgharrah had told him that, when the time came, Merlin would know his way. So he must have made the right choice in coming here.

He ran into his class, ignoring the looks all his new classmates gave him, and ducked his head as he rushed to one of the open desks toward the back of the room.

"Alright, class. I'm going to do a quick attendance check to try and figure out your names, so bear with me here." The teacher said, and with a quick glance at the board, Merlin saw his name was Mr. Rolland.

He called a few names and Merlin got preoccupied tracing the pattern of his wood desk with his finger.

Since his new last name started with a W which was fairly far down in the alphabet, Merlin didn't feel the need to listen to the teacher as he called out names. That backfired when he didn't hear the teacher call his name.

He jumped as a piece of crumpled up paper hit him on the forehead and looked up shyly as the whole class laughed at him.

"Miles Wyatt?" Mr. Rolland asked him.

Merlin nodded quickly and slid down on his chair, trying to hide his face from the embarrassment. Well, this was quite the switch from university.

One of the girls who sat near him turned to look at him, and he almost gave her a small smile until he realized it was a bad idea when she rolled her eyes and tossed her hair over her shoulder.

He made a face and looked back down at his desk, willing the class to end so he could just leave.

Eventually it did, and Merlin rushed out of there as fast as possible.

As he was rummaging around his locker for his schedule, he had to thank god for the good reflexes he had, and pulled his hand out of his locker just in time for it to slam closed.

"You prat, you almost tore my hand off!" Merlin yelled at the stranger.

"New kid's british! Aw, did i make you upset?" The boy taunted, his friends all laughing behind him.

"No, I just like having the ability to move my hand." Merlin spat back.

"Oh, brit's got spirit." The boy laughed. "Looks like you're my new locker neighbor."

Merlin couldn't help gulping. "Your what?"

"What's the matter? Don't want to see me everyday?"

Merlin shook his head. "No, I just-"

"Good. Because i have a feeling we're going to be great friends." The boy spat the word great at Merlin, sending a chill down the warlock's spine.

"I'm Garret." The boy introduced himself.

Merlin gulped. "Mer- Miles."

"Well, Miles, I would advise you not to get in my way. Stay away from me and don't once try and talk to me in front of anyone. Got it?"

"Why? Scared your reputation is going to take a hit if someone finds out just how much of a clot pole you are?" Merlin shot at him.

The boy didn't seem too pleased about this. He grabbed Merlin by the collar of his navy blue pullover sweatshirt and slammed his back into the locker.

"You wanna say that again?" The boy challenged.

Merlin could feel his heart beating in his ears, but he ignored it. He wouldn't let this ass win. "What's the matter, Garret? Shocked someone finally called you out?"

"Look, kid, you do not want to go there with me. I can snap you in half like a pencil."

Merlin nodded, and Garret slowly released him. Merlin resisted the urge to rub his neck as he closed his locker.

As he walked away, he couldn't help but getting a bit if revenge on the boy.

"Hey, Garret, you might want to invest some money into a belt." Merlin called over his shoulder, laughing to himself as he heard the boy's shocked reaction.

* * *

His next class, English, was a bit better.

He sat next to a boy with a bit of a bush of red hair and a face covered in freckles, who looked a bit more on his popularity level. And he actually talked to him, too.

"Do you know what this teacher's name is?" Merlin whispered to him.

The other boy leaned closer to Merlin and replied, "Mrs. Parkinson. And I'd advise you not to get on her bad side. Just a bit of a warning."

"Thanks. I'm Miles." Merlin introduced himself.

"Brodie." The boy said. "And I would also advise you not to talk to me. You're the new kid, you've got a clean slate. Don't blow it. Plus, you're British, i see. The girls are gonna be all over you."

Merlin laughed a little at this. "I think it's a little late for that. I got on the bad side of a senior earlier."

"Who?"

"The kid who's locker is right next to mine. Garret something-or-other."

Brodie turned to look at him. "No way, you got Rylie's locker?"

"Who's Rylie?" Merlin asked.

"The kid who had a locker next to Garret last year. He had to beg the office to switch his locker. That seriously sucks, Miles."

Merlin only shrugged. "I'm sure i can handle him."

Brodie's eyes widened. "Are you sure? I know the principal, I'm sure i can pull a few strings and-"

Merlin shook his head. "I'll be fine. Hey, do you know where room 207 is, by the way?"

"Chemistry." Brodie nodded his head, his red curls falling into his eyes. "I have it next, too. I'll show you. I'll meet you at your locker."

"Okay, it's number-"

"I know where it is." Brodie laughed. "It's pretty much famous."

"Brodie, Miles!" Mrs. Parkinson snapped. Both boys whipped their heads up to look at her. "Is there something you would like to share with the class?"

Merlin shook his head, and Brodie muttered "Sorry."

Mrs. Parkinson glared at them, then went back to her lesson.

* * *

"So, where are you from, Miles?"

Merlin walked down the hall next to Brodie, trying to navigate his way around the school.

"The UK." Merlin answered absentmindedly.

"Well, obviously. I didn't think you were Canadian. I meant where in the UK?"

"Oh!" Merlin shook his head. "Uh, London."

"Classic." Brodie laughed. "It's weird, you don't have much of a London accent."

Merlin felt a bit panicky at his comment. "We do quite a bit if moving around."

"Your parents must have quite the job." Brodie commented.

"My parents?" Merlin asked.

Brodie looked a bit nervous. "Oh, man... Do you only have one parent, or none? I'm sorry, Miles, I didn't know-"

"No, it's okay. Sorry, I just wasn't listening. Yeah, they do." Merlin stuttered.

"That's cool, what do they do?" Brodie asked.

Merlin racked his mind for an appropriate lie. "They're marine biologists."

"Really?" Brodie looked fascinated. "That's so cool!"

"Yeah, but we never stay in one place for too long. This is the third school I've been to over the last two years." Merlin was actually quite amused at how good an actor he was.

"That sucks." Brodie nodded, stepping into a classroom and taking a seat in one of the empty desks near the back. It was a two-person lab bench, so Merlin sat next to him.

After about five minutes of Merlin making up facts about his life, the teacher walked into the class and wrote his name on the blackboard.

Merlin sneezed, and the whole class turned to look at him.

"Sorry." He muttered, sneezing again.

"Are you okay?" Brodie asked him.

Merlin nodded. "I think I'm-" sneeze. "Allergic-" sneeze. "To chalk." Sneeze.

Brodie laughed, and Merlin glared at him through sneezes.

"What luck to be put in the one classroom in the school that still uses chalkboards." Brodie laughed.

Merlin continued to sneeze, and his teacher, Mr. Emerson, stopped his lesson to glare at him.

"Mr. Wyatt, is there a problem?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Can I-" sneeze. "Go to the-" sneeze. "Washroom?"

Mr. Emerson rolled his eyes and nodded reluctantly. "Make it fast."

"Thank-" sneeze. "You."

He ran out of the class, trying hard to stop sneezing. It finally subsided when he reached the washroom.

Merlin groaned, putting his head on his hands as he leaned over the bathroom sink and cast the spell that would get rid of the allergies.

Great first day of school.

Maybe high school was a bad idea.

It can't be, though. There was something about this place that Merlin just knew he would find Arthur here. He just had to start looking.

* * *

**sorry its so short lol i didnt know what else to write**

**anywayyyy welcome to this new fic idk i got the idea and i just had to write it omg**

**hope u enjoy bc i think it'll be quite interesting to see 16 year old merlin in a social setting**

**soo yeah ill try to update really fast ily for reading bye**

**-notreallymagical**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Merlin. All I own is a chihuahua and the pepperoni pizza in my fridge.**

"Are there any... Is there anyone named Arthur in this school?"

Brodie looked up at Merlin and raised an eyebrow.

"Um... Why?"

Merlin shrugged. "Just wondering. I had a friend named Arthur back in London."

Brodie looked back down at his paper. "I think there's a ninth grader named Arthur, but that's the only one i know."

Merlin nodded. He made a mental note to find that boy.

As the bell rang, Merlin began shoving books into the messenger bag over his shoulder and ran after Brodie- who seemed to have a habit of leaving Merlin to follow him and not bothering to wait.

As he turned the corner, he nearly crashed into a girl.

"Watch where you're going." She rolled her eyes at him, turning her attention back to her phone and walking away from him.

Merlin made a face that mocked hers and ran up to Brodie, who was fishing around his locker for something.

"Hey, where's room 116?" He asked.

"Right there." Brodie pointed to the room straight across from his locker.

Merlin nodded. "Are you in that class?"

"History?" Brodie asked. Merlin nodded. "No, I've got math. I'm sure you'll be fine, though."

The bell rang and Merlin went to his class, choosing a seat near the front for a change.

"Ah, you're our new student from England, right?" The teacher asked Merlin once he'd sat down.

Merlin ignored all the stares and nodded.

"Do you have a cool accent?!" One of the girls across the room shouted at him.

Merlin laughed and shrugged. "Depends on your opinion of 'cool'."

The girl's face lit up and she picked up her books, walking over to the seat next to Merlin and sitting down.

"I'm Sara. What's your name?"

"Miles." Merlin smiled.

Sara smiled back. "Nice to meet ya, Miles."

A second girl came in and sat in front of Sara.

"Miles, this is Carly. Carly, Miles. He's from England." Sara smiled at her friend.

"Really?" Carly asked. Merlin nodded. "That's so cool! Do you have an accent?"

"You could say." Merlin shrugged. The girls both laughed.

"Alright, class, take your seats." The teacher, Merlin heard Sara call her Ms. Hale, called out to the room of teenagers.

"Right, here is your layout for the year. Now, we'll be spending some time in reading circles, greek mythology, Shakespearian times and Arthurian legends." Ms. Hale announced.

A smile lit up on Merlin's face at the name. It was quite uncanny, actually, that Arthur had managed to have his own legend. And that Merlin was in it. And that everyone knew him, yet, at the same time, no one did.

"We will be starting off with Arthurian legends, and spending two months on that subject, then moving on to reading circles. Everyone come and pick up a booklet." She put down a stack of papers on a desk.

"Miles, do you want me to get you one?" Sara asked.

"Sure, thanks." Merlin smiled at her.

She got his booklet and handed it to him and he took a look at the front page.

He hadn't done Arthurian legends in university, so he was quite excited to reminisce a little. But, as he read through, he noticed all the things that were wrong about their knowledge. And, as Ms. Hale started chatting about them, Merlin couldn't help but feel a bit frustrated.

"And Mordred was the one who ultimately put an end to king Arthur's reign. He was Arthur's evil and jealous step-brother- yes, Miles?"

Merlin put his hand back down on his desk and sat up. "Actually, Ms. Hale, Mordred hadn't any relation to King Arthur in any way. He was a part of a magical group called the Druids, and he only killed Arthur because Arthur's half sister, Morgana, had made him believe that Arthur was an , Mordred was destined to kill Arthur, but it wasn't _really_ until Morgana got into his head that he decided to do it."

The whole class stared at Merlin as if he'd grown two heads, Ms. Hale included.

"I don't believe you're correct, Miles. But where did you learn that version?"

"I, uh... I guess we have different versions in England." Merlin stuttered.

"Well, maybe throughout the course, we can have you share a bit about Arthurian legends in England, then?" Ms. Hale smiled at him.

Merlin nodded and forced himself to smile back. "Yeah, sure."

By the end of class, Merlin had decided not to even open his mouth in class anymore. For his own good.

"Miles!"

Merlin spun around at the sound of his "name" being called.

"Hey, Sara." He smiled.

"That was so cool, your version of the Mordred story. You know, I've always had a thing for Arthurian legends." She smiled up at him.

"Really?" Merlin smiled a genuine smile. "I've never met anyone else with an interest in them before."

"Neither have I! Carly says its stupid, all this talk about magic and Camelot and the reincarnation of King Arthur. But I think it's cool."

"Do you..." Merlin started. "Do you believe it? The reincarnation of King Arthur, I mean. Do you think he could come back?"

Sara laughed. "Oh, I think they're all coming back."

"What do you mean?" Merlin asked.

"Like, Arthur, and Guinivere, and the knights of the round table, Mordred, Merlin... I believe they'll all be back. Not just Arthur."

Merlin jumped a bit at the mention of his name. "And Morgana?"

"You mean Morgan Le Fey? Yeah, her too. Is she called Morgana in England?"

Merlin swallowed and nodded. "Yeah. Morgana Pendragon, actually."

"But that wouldn't make any sense, because she isn't a Pendragon here. Her mother is Arthur's mother, they don't share a father. Wow, England legends sure are confusing. Have you heard of the Order of the Bear?"

Merlin nodded. He had heard a bit about the Order before, but not an elaborate description of it.

"Well, I think they're onto something. I believe them. I think I might be the only one, though." Sara sighed, stopping by a locker and turning the combination. She opened it and Merlin made a mental note of the number. 684.

"No, I totally agree!" Merlin said.

Sara smiled up at him. "Really?!"

"Yeah, I don't think as much as Morgana- I mean, Morgan, or Mordred, well, I hope not, but yeah, I do believe that Arthur will rise again. Maybe even the knights of the round table. Maybe even queen Guinivere."

"Who knows, maybe you're King Arthur reincarnated." Sara joked, but it sent a chill down Merlin's spine.

"Well, I should probably be getting to my dorm." Merlin said, beginning to walk away from Sara.

"Hey! What's your number?" She called after him.

"My what?"

"Your phone number." Sara blinked.

"I don't have a cell phone." Merlin shook his head. "I'm getting one, though. I'll make sure i get you the number when I do."

"Alright." Sara smiled. "See you later, Miles!"

"Bye, Sara!"

* * *

Merlin opened his dorm room door and threw his bag on the floor.

"Hey, Miles." Merlin's roommate, Tegan, called to Merlin over his shoulder.

Merlin had met Tegan a few days ago. He didn't know the boy too well, but he didn't seem too bad.

"Hey." Merlin answered.

"So, I heard you were getting cozy with Sara Barkman." Tegan smirked in Merlin's direction.

Merlin shrugged. "She's nice."

"You totally want in her pants!" Tegan laughed.

"I what?" Merlin demanded.

"I'm not sure what you call it over in your country, but here in America, when a guy thinks a girl is hot, we call it wanting to get into her pants." Tegan smirked again.

"I never said she was hot, i said she was nice."

Tegan laughed. "Whatever you say, Miles. She's single, by the way."

Merlin threw a cushion at Tegan, who laughed and tossed it back.

"Hey, do you know where I can go to get a cell phone?" Merlin asked.

"Yeah, I think there's a dealer in the mall not too far from here." Tegan answered, turning his attention back to the laptop on his desk.

Money was no object for Merlin. He'd discovered over the years and easy way of turning plastic toy money into real legal money using his magic, so he could buy about anything he wanted. A cell phone wouldn't even put a dent in his wallet.

And, the next week, he was carrying around his brand new iPhone 4S.

It's not like he knew how to use it, but it was still cool to have.

"Miles, you got a cell phone!" Sara exclaimed as she took her seat next to Merlin in Ms. Hale's history class.

"I sure did." Merlin laughed. "Now all i have to do is figure out how to use it."

"What are you trying to do?" Sara asked him.

"Turn it on."

"Oh, the button on the top." She instructed.

Merlin tipped the phone and noticed a small, rectangular button on the top of his phone. He pressed it down and the screen lit up.

"Oh, you haven't even set a wallpaper yet!" Sara sighed. She snatched the phone out of Merlin's grasp, her fingers clicking the screen so fast that Merlin couldn't even follow what she was doing, until she opened the camera.

"Here, smile!" She said, pressing her face close to Merlin's and smiling.

She snapped the picture and clicked some more, then turned the phone off and then on again, and the screen showed a picture of the two of them.

"Thanks." Merlin smiled at her.

"No problem. Hey, I meant to ask you if you wanted to go for lunch with me and Carly and a few of our other friends today."

"Uh, yeah, sure. Sounds fun."

"Okay, meet me at my locker after next period. I'll put my number in your phone, too. Here." She held her hand out and Merlin handed her the phone.

She typed for a second, then handed the phone back to Merlin. "There you go. I'll give you more technology lessons later."

Merlin laughed and rolled his eyes. "I'm not that bad, am I?"

"You couldn't turn it on." She smiled a joking smile, and Merlin rolled his eyes again.

* * *

**aw i love sara**

**anyway im going to update twice tonight bc i wrote 2 chapters and forgot to post the first before starting the second soooooooo ya**

**i hope u all liked this one omg its kinda boring but yeah**

**it'll pick up soon i promise u i hope i havent lost anyone yet**

**and leave a review and tell me what you think! if u have any suggestions or something i'd be happy to hear!**

**and i guess i should apologize for my typing style its a bad habit i have but idk if u can deal with it the props to u**

**anyway i'll be going now enjoy this chapter and the next one ! (:**

**-notreallymagical**


	3. Chapter 3

"Are we going for lunch today?"

Merlin turned around to see Brodie standing there.

"Actually, I have plans." Merlin smiled.

"With who?" Brodie asked.

"Sara Barkman." Merlin answered.

"You're going for lunch with _Sara Barkman_?!" Brodie exclaimed.

Merlin nodded. "Yeah, what's the big deal?"

"She's popular, that's the big deal. She's a cheerleader." Brodie explained.

"Really? I had no idea." Merlin shrugged. "That's cool. Hey, by the way, do you have a cell phone?"

"Who doesn't?" Brodie remarked.

"Here, put your number in." Merlin handed him his phone.

Brodie turned it on then looked up at Merlin. "How the hell did you manage this?"

"The background?" Merlin asked, and Brodie nodded. "Sara did it. She did whatever, and took a picture, and... I don't even know."

"Dude, don't blow this. She doesn't tend to socialize with underdogs." Brodie warned.

"Are you calling me an underdog?" Merlin scoffed in fake offense.

Brodie rolled his eyes. "Just don't piss her off, she could ruin you in a second."

"I don't think she would do that." Merlin shook his head and closed his locker.

"I'm not saying she would. I'm saying she_ could_."

"And she_ won't_." Merlin insisted. "I've got to go, see you in Chemistry."

"Later." Brodie nodded as he walked away from Merlin.

* * *

"Miles, there you are. I was starting to think you'd bailed on me."

Merlin laughed and rolled his eyes. "Hey, Sara."

"Okay, this is Miles, the British exchange student." Sara started.

"I'm not an exchange student. I actually live here." Merlin said shyly.

"Well, the British person who lives here." Sara joked. "Anyway, Miles, Meet Cody and Amber. You already know Carly."

Merlin nodded, hoping to remember the names.

"Can we hurry up?" Amber rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, sure." They all started walking, Sara falling into step beside Merlin. "Ignore Amber. She's a bit of a pain in the ass and she gets whatever she wants because her dad owns this big corporation." Sara explained.

Merlin nodded with an ironic laugh. "I can't say I've never met someone like that."

* * *

"Here we are!"

Merlin stepped out of the car and looked around. "Where are we?"

"Pizza Hut. Come on, don't tell me you don't have Pizza Hut in England." Sara groaned.

Merlin laughed. He did recognize the building, he just didn't recognize the location.

"Sara, I'm from England, not Antarctica."

This made the whole group laugh. Well, except Amber. Merlin didn't even think she was listening, she was so focused on the phone in her hands. Merlin wondered if he should have his out, too. But the rest of the group was talking, so he decided against it.

"So, Miles, I heard you got cursed with the locker next to Garret Nikon." Cody said to Merlin.

"Yeah, he's definitely not the nicest boy I've ever met." Merlin raised his eyebrows while scanning over the menu.

"So, what's it like across the ocean?" Merlin took a second to realize Carly was talking to him.

"Not much different than over here, if you count the double-decker busses and massive clock tower." Merlin laughed.

"And accents!" Carly sighed. "I'd give anything to have a British accent. What's it like?"

"It's not really something you're conscious of. It's just kinda..._ There_." Merlin explained.

"Are we hard to understand?" Sara asked him.

Merlin shook his head. "There's lots of Americans in London, plus American television and things like that. I'm actually quite used to it."

As awkward as it was, Merlin was quite enjoying their fascination with him. After however many educations he had, this was the first time he'd actually made a friend. Or, many friends, if you include Brodie and Tegan.

Merlin played with the strings on his navy blue hoodie, his red scarf popping up as he did so. He never really grew out of his old style, he just simply modernized it. It was the one piece of his past that he kept with him.

"Can I take your order?"

Merlin froze at the sound of the voice.

He slowly looked up, eyes wide in shock.

The boy looked down at him as if he were crazy. Which he probably was.

As the others ordered, Merlin couldn't pull his eyes away from the waiter. And the waiter kept passing glances at Merlin.

"And for you?"

Merlin gulped, hands shaking as he reached for his menu. "I'll take the breadsticks, I guess."

The boy nodded, taking Merlin's menu from him and walking away.

"What was that all about? You looked like he was about to kill your family." Cody said to Merlin once the waiter was out of earshot.

"I... I thought I recognized him from somewhere else. But it wasn't the same person. I was just shocked." Merlin lied, trying to keep his voice from shaking.

Everyone at the table nodded except Sara. Well, and Amber, but she was too concentrated on her phone to probably even realize what was going on.

"Are you okay, Miles?" Sara asked him.

"I'm fine." He insisted.

Merlin knew it wasn't him. He didn't know how he knew, he just did. But the fact that it could have been him, that Merlin knew he was so close, that scared the life out of him.

It wasn't Mordred. But it could have been.

_It could have been. _And that scared him.

"_So_..." Sara started rather awkwardly.

"Hey, guys, I'm having a party this weekend, by the way. Saturday night." Amber spoke up for the first time.

Some mindless chatter about the party started, but Merlin sat there in silence, willing his heart to slow down.

"Miles, can you come?"

Merlin's head shot up to look at them.

"Uh, yeah, sure, sounds like fun. Where is it? Like, where do you live? I'm assuming it's not at your dorm." Merlin attempted a joke, but Amber only rolled her eyes. After informing him that she didn't have a dorm, she gave him instructions on where to go, and Merlin made sure he remembered them.

By the time they returned to school, Merlin was late for class. He hoped Brodie saved him a seat in chemistry, and when he walked up the steps to his locker, he saw Garret standing there with his crew by his side.

"The British are coming, the British are coming!" Garret called when he saw Merlin approaching.

Merlin rolled his eyes and reached for his lock.

"What are you, deaf?" Garret asked, slamming Merlin's shoulder into the lockers.

Merlin glared up at him, trying to ignore the fact that the boy was almost a whole foot taller than him. "Look, Garret, I really don't want any- Ow!" Merlin shrank down in pain as the boy shoved him farther into the locker. "Come on, I just want to get into my locker!" To Merlin's surprise, the large boy released him. Merlin shook his shoulders and muttered "thanks."

He punched in his combination and opened the locker. Almost the second after the door was open, Garret grabbed his shoulder and shoved him inside it.

"What are you doing?!" Merlin demanded.

"You said you wanted to get into your locker, I'm just trying to help!" The boy laughed menacingly.

"Well, this is quite cliche, the prat shoving the nerd into the locker." Merlin shot, despite the pain in his shoulder.

This only made Garret angrier, and Merlin caught a glimpse of the evil smile before the locker slammed shut on his face.

"Come on, let me out!" Merlin yelled, slamming his foot on the locker. He heard the laughs of Garret and his henchmen as they walked away from him.

Merlin huffed and crossed his arms, leaning his head back in frustration.

Normally he would have used his magic to bust out, but there were certain boundaries he'd made and he wasn't sure if there was anyone standing in the hall, and the door of a locker being blown off wouldn't be too easy to explain.

Eventually he must have dozed off, because an hour later, he was awoken by the bell sounding and the chatter of the students filling the halls.

He began to kick the locker again, hoping someone would hear and help him, but it took a while before someone came to his aid.

He was relieved to see Brodie's familiar bouncing red curls.

"How did you end up in your locker?" He asked Merlin, a bit of amusement on his face.

"Garret." Was Merlin's reply. "How do you know my combination?"

"I don't." Brodie said as Merlin squeezed out of the locker. "It was open."

"Like, the locker was open? And I was standing in there an hour for nothing?" Merlin groaned.

"No, the lock was latched but wasn't shut. I don't think Garret's that smart."

The boys both laughed. "Hey, can I get the notes from today?" Merlin asked.

"Sure. Are you busy tonight? You can stop by my dorm." Brodie offered.

"Yeah, sure." Merlin nodded just as the bell rang. "I'll see you, gotta get to class."

"Yeah. Later, Miles."

"Bye."

Merlin hurried off to his next class, the one where he didn't know a single person, and went to sit in his usual seat. He realized, though, that he did know someone. He saw Amber sitting across the room and walked over to her.

"Hey." He greeted.

"What?" She snapped at him.

"Just wanted to say hi..." Merlin muttered, a bit taken aback.

"Hi." She remarked. "What do you want?"

"I was going to sit here, but..." Merlin started. Amber didn't look as though she was going to argue, so Merlin went ahead and sat down.

"Alright, class, I'm going to assign you partners and you'll work on a trigonometry question and write the solution on the board." The teacher announced. "Alright, Ray, you're with Matt, Jeff, you're with Katie, Amber, you're with Miles..."

Amber groaned, leaning her head back on her chair.

"What did i do?" Merlin asked.

"Nothing. Let's just get it done, okay?" Amber spat, sitting up, opening her book to the page, and reading it over.

"_Ooookaaayy_..." Merlin said awkwardly, spinning his chair around to face Amber's desk.

"How the hell do you even do this?" Amber groaned to herself.

Having graduated from university several times, Merlin more than knew his was around mathematics. This was simple for him.

"Here, you have to find this angle using the cosine law to be able to use the sine law and find this side." Merlin said, pointing around the triangle drawn on Amber's paper.

She nodded, jotting down a few numbers and punching them into her calculator.

"That can't be right..." She said, handing it to him. "What did I do wrong?"

Merlin took a look at her work, immediately realizing her mistake. "You found the angle right, but you put the wrong one in here. You need to use an opposite side angle pair on the sine law, like so..." He wrote down a few numbers, not bothering to use the calculator because he knew this like the back of his hand. "There, the side is 3.4 centimeters long."

"How did you... You didn't even use a calculator!" She said with wide-eyes.

Merlin only shrugged. "Didn't need to."

"But how did you know sin of seventy-five, you didn't even-" She started, but was cut off as the teacher instructed them to put their work on the board.

"Go write it up there." Merlin instructed her.

Amber was still staring down at the paper in shock. She shook her head and stood up, walking up to the board and grabbing a marker.

Merlin realized it probably wasn't normal for people to be as smart as he was; these were only eleventh graders, after all. He decided it would probably be best to tone down his mind before people started to notice.

After the bell rang signalling the end of the day, Merlin grabbed his books and rushed out of the class. To his dismay, Amber followed him.

"Are you, like, a prodigy or something?" She asked him.

"What? No. I just like math, that's all." He said. It wasn't a whole lie, he didn't hate math. But it definitely wasn't his favourite.

"Well, you're really good at it." She told him, making Merlin smile a bit.

"Thanks." he said.

"Well, I'd better be going. My dad's waiting outside. I'll see you later, Miles."

"Bye."

Merlin watched as she walked off, feeling a bit bewildered. She went from acting like she hated Merlin more than anything in the world, to acting like his best friend in a matter of seconds.

"Miles!"

Merlin spun around and smiled as he saw Sara running towards him.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"I meant to ask what dorm you're in." she said, sounding out of breath.

"Oh, uh... Brennan hall, dorm 115, I think."

"Awesome. I'm in Ryder, 146." She said with a smile.

"Cool. Maybe I'll come visit you, then."

"Sure! I'm usually there. Hey, if you're not busy, do you maybe want to come to the café with me? I don't know if you've been there yet, this being your first year and all. They have the best mocha lattes. You have to try them."

"Yeah, sure. I'd love to. I have to be at Brodie's in a little while, though. So I can't stay long." Merlin told her.

"Like, Brodie Thralls?" Sara asked.

Merlin nodded. "Yeah, he's in my chemistry class. I missed today's lesson so he's gonna give me what I missed."

Sara nodded. "I didn't know you knew him."

"What, do you not like him?" Merlin asked.

Sara shrugged. "I don't really know him. I've seen him around, though. He seems okay."

"He's nice." Merlin nodded. "So, should we be going, then?"

Sara smiled bigger and nodded. "Yeah. It's just a little ways away from here."

They walked down to the café, chatting about random things as they did so.

Merlin learned that Sara was from Cincinnati, and that she had a younger sister named Bella and an older brother named Jake. She loved being a cheerleader and downhill skiing, and had a preference for chocolate cake over vanilla.

By the time they reached the café, Merlin felt closer to Sara than he'd felt to anyone over the past thousand years.

"What do you want? My treat." Merlin smiled to her.

She shook her head. "It's okay, Miles. I can pay for myself."

"No, I insist."

Sara rolled her eyes with a smile and looked at the woman at the till. "One medium mocha latté, please."

"I think I'll try the hot chocolate." Merlin said as he studied the menu above him.

Once they'd gotten their drinks and sat down, Merlin started their conversation up again.

"So, you said you believed the Order of the bear." Merlin tried to sound casual. If there was any unsureness in his voice, Sara didn't seem to notice.

"Yeah. I think it's cool what they're trying to get across, you know?"

Merlin nodded. "And you said you think Morgana and Mordred are also going to rise?"

Sara took a sip of her drink before answering. "Yeah. I mean, when I say they're all going to rise, I mean the main members of the legend. I'm not saying I think every single citizen of Camelot is going to come back."

"So who do you think is coming back, then?" Merlin inquired.

"Well, king Arthur of course. Mordred, Merlin, possible Morgan Le Fay, the knights of the round table _maybe_, but unlikely. Basically anyone who was vital to the legend."

"You think Merlin was vital to the legend?" Merlin tried to hold down a smile.

Sara nodded. "He was one of the king's advisers, wasn't he?"

That time Merlin did smile. "Yeah, I guess."

They sat in silence for a while until Merlin realized the time. "I totally forgot about Brodie! Sorry, Sara. This was awesome, we should do it again sometime. But I have to go, bye!"

He didn't wait for a response as he ran through the doors and toward the dorm buildings.

* * *

**wow I love Sara so much haha she's my fave**

**Other than Merlin I mean**

**I love them all except for garret I kinda want to punch him in the face**

**anyway I hope you liked this chapter and dont worry he'll find Arthur soon enough**

**anywayyyyyy**

**oh btw if ii got that little tidbit of info about mordred in the legend its bc i havent watched s5 or half of s4 so im just kinda making up stuff so thats probably wrong but hey this is****_ my_**** story **

**what's your opinion on all the characters? who's your favorite (other than merlin of course)?**

**review! pleeeeeaseeeee omg I love them yay**


	4. Chapter 4

"Where were you?"

Merlin rolled his eyes as he stepped into Brodie's dorm room. "I went out for coffee."

"_You_ drink coffee?" Brodie raised an eyebrow at him.

"No, I drink hot chocolate. It's quite good, actually, have you tried it?"

Brodie laughed at this, to Merlin's confusion.

"What's so funny?" He asked.

"You've never had hot chocolate before?" Brodie had to take deep breaths to slow his breathing as Merlin shook his head. "Don't they have it in England?"

"Oh course they do, I've just never tried it before." Merlin remarked.

Brodie shook his head, the smile not leaving his face as he closed the door behind Merlin.

"Alright, so, for those- Oh, hi, you're Brodie's roommate. I'm Miles." Merlin smiled at the boy.

"Cameron. Most people call me Cam."

"Here you go. You can photocopy them if you want, I just need them back." Brodie said, handing Merlin the notes.

"I'll just copy them. Thanks, Brodie. Bye, Cam."

"Later." The other two boys called in unison.

Merlin walked down the hall toward the staircase, reading the notes as he walked.

As he opened the door, he heard more than one voice coming from his dorm room.

He walked in and saw Tegan and some other boy who's name Merlin didn't know sitting on the bed playing some game.

"Hey, Miles." Tegan greeted Merlin without even looking at him.

"Tegan, and... Some guy." Merlin raised an eyebrow, though neither of the boys saw it.

"Michael." Tegan said, a look of anger crossing his face. "Hey, no fair, I was distracted!"

"You still lost." Michael shot at him, finally turning his attention to Merlin. "Hi."

"Hiya."

They stared at each other for a moment longer, Merlin being the first one to break the staring contest. Still, even as he turned away from his roommate's friend, he could feel Michael's eyes burning a hole in his back.

"Have we met?"

Merlin spun around at the question, studying Michael for a moment before shaking his head. "I don't believe so."  
Michael nodded, still not looking away from Merlin. Eventually it got awkward and Merlin was forced to evacuate to the bathroom.

As he locked the door behind him, he felt a strange sense of fear welling inside him. Maybe because, the fact that the boy recognized Merlin was scary because Merlin had changed identities to many times, and there was no actual person named Miles Wyatt going to this school. There probably was, somewhere, but not here.

Still, he was curious as to where Michael had seen him before. Maybe in the halls, or maybe they had a class together. Tegan was Merlin's age, after all. Michael probably was, too.

That must've been it. They must have just passed each other in the hallway. What other explanation was there?

* * *

The next day, there was a familiar face sitting in Sara's seat for history. But it wasn't Sara.

"Amber?" Merlin asked as he walked over to his seat. "What are you doing in this class?"

"I got transferred here. I hated gym, so I dropped it, and this was the only open class." she huffed, leaning her head on one of her hands and doodling with the other. Merlin took note that she used her left hand to write; he was fairly observant and noticed the smallest, most irrelevant things. It was a skill he'd picked up over years of being around people. He could pick up the slightest atmosphere change in a room and was able to tell when even the smallest thing was wrong with someone.

"Well, that's Sara's seat. That one's open, though." Merlin gestured to the seat on the right of him rather than the left.

Amber rolled her eyes and stood up, walking around behind Merlin and slamming her books down on the desk, making Merlin jump.

Sara walked in just then and Merlin smiled at her.

"Miles, you left your phone at the café last night." She said, handing it to him.

"Thanks." he said, turning it on to see his background had been changed.

"You should really put a lock on that, you know." Sara laughed.

The wallpaper on Merlin's phone had been changed from the picture of him and Sara to one of Sara making a funny face, which made Merlin laugh.

"I guess I should. How do I..." Merlin let his question drop as Sara gave him a knowing look and snatched the phone from his hands.

"Here, you have to open it , and go you your settings... General... Passcode lock... Turn passcode on... Here, type in a number."

Merlin was about to type when he realized Sara was watching him over his shoulder.

He gave her a look and she laughed, covering her eyes with her hands.

Merlin typed in the last digits of his phone number as his lock. Something easy to remember. He then turned it off, then back on, and typed in the number to see if it worked. It did.

"Great. Now I don't have to worry about your lot getting in." he jokingly shot at Sara with a smile. She rolled her eyes but smiled back.

"Hey, losers." Carly said as she walked in and placed her books on her desk. "Amber? What are you doing here?"  
"Amber?" Sara looked around Merlin. "I didn't even notice."

Amber sighed. "I dropped PE because I'm pretty sure my teacher was a sociopath."

This made both Sara and Carly laugh, but Merlin was more intent on the drawing on Amber's paper.

"What is that?" he asked, nodding towards it.

Amber quickly shoved it into her binder. "Nothing."

"No, I think I recognize it. Where's it from?" Merlin inquired.

"I don't know, I like to doodle." Amber shot at him.

Though it wasn't just a doodle, Merlin knew. It was something far more important than that. Something Amber should not have known about.

The Druid symbol. But where had she found it? The Druids weren't even in their textbooks.

Unless...

No, it wasn't possible.

Amber couldn't be Morgana. There was just no way.

Merlin didn't realize he looked afraid until Amber shot him a glare. "What? You look like I just ate your puppy."

Merlin blinked, trying to get the fear out of his eyes. "Sorry. I just think I've seen that before, that's all."

Amber rolled her eyes again. She seemed to have a thing for that.

Merlin didn't pay attention much during that class. His mind was running too fast with the possibility of Amber being Morgana.

Perhaps when Kilgharrah said that Arthur would rise, he left out a vital fact. Maybe Sara was right. Maybe Morgana would rise, too. But she also mentioned Mordred.

Merlin felt a shudder run down his spine at the very thought of the names. He'd been hoping Arthur would rise again, and everything would be okay. The realization that Morgana and Mordred could come back, too, was daunting. Still, he had to keep an eye out for Arthur. Before Morgana and Mordred found him. Before Morgana and Mordred found each other.

Merlin shook his head, trying to force the thoughts out of his mind. He couldn't think about that. After all, Morgana had been good originally. Her spite had taken her over. Perhaps, with her hatred of Uther gone, she could be good once more. There was no ban on magic in the 21st century. It was more of an unspoken rule. But, Merlin had never died, so his magic had no reason to go. Morgana had died. Maybe she wouldn't even have her magic.  
But that left Mordred. Merlin had been told from the start that the boy was going to kill Arthur. Maybe, if he could keep him away from Morgana, he would be Merlin's only problem.

Well, aside from the fact that he still had no idea who Mordred was. Or Morgana, for that matter. Other than a suspicion. Or even Arthur.

Merlin realized that he hadn't even been looking for Arthur. He could have met him already and not even realized it. He had to step up his game.

So, that night, he stayed up later than everyone else on his laptop, searching for clues that could lead him to his friend.

He found a website on reincarnation and read through it intently.

_Reincarnation is the religious or philosophical belief that the soul or spirit, after biological death, begins new life in a new body that may be human, animal or spiritual depending on the moral quality of the previous life's actions._  
So, basically, what this was saying was that Arthur could come back as a fly for the matter. But Merlin knew he was here. He knew he was a student and he knew he had to find him.

He clicked off the page when it all became Latin and Greek and confused him and scrolled down a little, finding a page that looked promising and clicked there instead.

_Reincarnation could explain why bad things happen to good people or why good things happen to bad people; they are being rewarded or punished for actions in past lives (karma). One could explain déjà vu experiences by claiming that they are memories of past lives. Dreams could be interpreted as a kind of soul travel and soul memory._

So, whoever Arthur was would have vague memories of himself. Merlin felt a bit bad, knowing Arthur would be confused and frustrated. And déjà vu. He would have moments of "I've seen this before."

Suddenly something hit him. Michael! Tegan's friend who asked Merlin if they'd met before. Maybe it was him, seeing as though he'd looked skeptical when Merlin insisted they hadn't.

But something told Merlin it wasn't Michael. If Kilgharrah was telling the truth, he'd have known when he met Michael. But nothing had jumped at him, so he decided against it. And the same went for Amber. Even though there was a bit of a tug from them both...

Merlin slammed his laptop shut, louder than expected, and threw it to the side, not caring if it slid off the bed and hit the ground.

His mind was moving so fast it nearly knocked him over.

He had to resist the urge to scream, knowing that the dorm advisors would be there in two seconds, and doubled over, cupping his hands over his ears and placing his head between his knees while trying to slow his breathing.  
_Come on, Arthur. Hurry up, I can't carry on like this._

* * *

**he finds arthur soon !**  
**ps it may shock u just a warning pls don't kill me**  
**and what's your opinion on Michael? we'll be seeing a lot of him soon!**  
**as for all the other carachters, the main ones will be here lots too. and by main I mean like merlin (obviously), Sara, Brodie, amber and michael yaaay**  
**oh and by the way I got a suggestion by PhantomTrancyVongola telling me to describe my characters, sooo**  
**Okay so you know Merlin obviously, he's a sixteen year old so just imagine him as a younger version of himself, if I'm not mistaken he's meant to be sixteen at the beginning of s1?**  
**Sara is a tiny girl, like 5'1 tiny, and she has long beach blonde hair and blue eyes. **  
**Brodie is my favorite, he has a bit of an Afro of red hair and freckles all over. If you want a visual look up Ethan Jamieson, his hair looks a bit like that but the face is different in my mind. But you can imagine want you would like. He's also significantly shorter than Merlin, I think Merlin would have about 6 inches on Brodie.**  
**Tegan has classic guy-length brown hair and brown eyes. He'd be, in my mind, the guy everyone has a crush on (lookswise). He's taller than Merlin, I'm guessing around 5'11.**  
**Amber has medium length blonde-ish hair and blue eyes. She's shorter than Merlin, but taller than Sara and Brodie. I'd give her around 5'5.**


	5. Chapter 5

"Thank_ god_ it's the weekend."

Merlin looked up from his book as Sara flopped down on the bed.

"What do you want to do today?" Merlin asked her.

"Sleep." She muttered, rolling over onto her side and curling up into a ball.

"Well, I want to go to the new sushi bar." Amber said from across the room.

"Never mind the sushi bar, let's go to the pool!" Carly argued.

"I don't want to do anything but lie here!" Sara groaned again, grabbing a pillow and placing it over her head.

"Get up, lazy. Don't waste the Friday afternoon just lying around!" Cody said, reaching a hand forward to tickle Sara's foot.

Sara didn't seem to be expecting it and she lashed out, nearly kicking Cody in the nose.

"Christ girl." Cody joked.

Sara grabbed the pillow off her head and chucked it toward Cody, but her aim was slightly off (okay, _a lot_ off), and it flew in Merlin's direction.

He caught it midair and tossed it back to Sara, who put it back at the head of the bed and sat up, her hair now a mess from being under the pillow. Merlin bit back a laugh.

"Is something funny, Miles?" Sara asked him, crossing her arms with a pout.

"Your hair, mostly." Merlin replied, leaning back in the wheely chair and allowing himself to laugh.

Sara fixed her hair quickly, shooting Merlin a jokingly angry look, causing him to laugh again.

"Can we_ pleeeeeasseeee_ do something?" Carly whined.

"Like what?" Cody asked her with a small smile.

"_Aaanyyythiiinggg_." Carly replied in the same time as before.

Merlin watched as Cody got up from his chair and walked over to her, sitting next to her on the bed and wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"Better?" He asked.

Carly reached her head up and placed a small kiss on his lips. "Better."

"Gross." Sara laughed, holding her hands out toward them as if to block them from her line of vision.

"Aw, don't worry Sare-bear, you'll find someone who'll put up with you eventually." Cody threw at her jokingly.

Sara stuck her tongue out at him and he laughed.

"I'm sure plenty of boys would be all over_ thissssss_," she put both hands under her chin as if she was a model, "if they had the chance."

"So why don't you have a boyfriend, then?"

Sara shot Amber a glare, making the other girl laugh. She then got up, walked over to Merlin and sat on the arm of his chair. She put an arm over his shoulders and pressed her face closer to his.

"There. Miles'll be my boyfriend." She shot at the rest of the people in the room.

"_Now_, as appealing as that sounds..." Merlin started in a light tone.

"Are you breaking up with me?" Sara gasped.

"I'm sorry, it's just not working out." Merlin played along. "Maybe we can still be friends."

Sara gave him a light smack on the head, then got up and walked back to her place on the bed Carly and Cody weren't on.

"I'm serious, though. I want to do something. First weekend back in school and we're just gonna sit here?" Carly groaned. "Let's at least go sit in the field."

"Fine." Amber sighed, standing up and shoving her phone into her pocket.

The five of them walked through the halls and out into the summer air. It was a relief to Merlin after being stuck in Sara and Amber's cramped dorm room all morning, but he didn't say anything because he didn't want them to feel bad.

Once they reached the large patch of grass, Merlin immediately laid down on his back, staring up at the sky.

He wasn't aware of the presence beside him until she spoke up. "Look, a bunny."

"Huh?" Merlin cocked an eyebrow.

"Look." Sara repeated and pointed to the sky with her finger. "The cloud is shaped like a bunny."

Merlin nodded as he saw it. It didn't look much like a bunny, but he went along with it anyway.

"And a cat." Sara continued.

"A knight." Merlin said.

"Oh, yeah. I see it. There's the sword..."

"And the cape." Merlin nodded.

"You know, I did a bit more research on the Order of the Bear." Sara said unexpectedly.

Merlin could tell by their raging conversation that the other three weren't listening to him and Sara. "And what'd you find?"

"Well, it didn't say anything about the knights of the round table, so I guess I was right about ruling them out. It's mostly about Arthur and Mordred, actually. Morgan Le Fay is barely even in there."

Merlin sat up quickly, ignoring the rush this sent to his head. "So, it's just Mordred and Arthur?"

Sara sat up, too, and nodded. "That's what it looks like. It's quite sad, actually, I was hoping for Merlin to be in there. He's my favorite figure in the legend."

Merlin didn't have time to realize her words should have made him happy. The only thing he could focus on was Amber.

So, if she isn't Morgana... Then who is she?

Is it possible for Mordred to come back as a girl?

And Michael? Was he Arthur?

Merlin had to find out.

"I've got to go, Sara." Merlin said, scrambling to his feet in a panic and grabbing his bag from the ground. "I'll see you later, though!"

* * *

_"Tegan!"_

Merlin threw the door closed behind him and looked around the dorm room.

His roommate was nowhere to be seen.

Merlin groaned, slamming his fist into the wall in anger, then pulled it back at the pain it caused.

As he went to open the door to go to the bathrooms, he heard the lock start to jiggle and, assuming it was Tegan and that he'd forgotten his key, Merlin opened it.

But it wasn't Tegan.

"Hi." Merlin raised an eyebrow. "Tegan's not here right now-"

"I know that." Michael rolled his eyes, shoving Merlin to the side and letting himself into Merlin's room.

"Well, come on in, then." Merlin muttered sarcastically.

He turned around to see Michael going through Tegan's things.

"What are you doing?" Merlin asked, taking a step closer to the boy.

Michael looked up at him. "I left something here the other day, I'm trying to find it."

"Well, what is it? Maybe I can help you loo- actually, that's my bag..." Merlin reached a hand forward, snatching his bag away from Michael. He didn't mean to do it suspiciously, though the other boy had a right to be suspicious. Merlin had kept his old spell books and always carried them with him. They were carelessly thrown into this bag, and you could see them if you even opened the top.

"Sorry." Michael gave him a lopsided smile and turned his attention back to the bag. "Ah, here it is." He held up a red pullover sweatshirt much like the one Merlin was wearing. "Thanks, Miles. I'll go now."

As the door closed behind him, Merlin felt a sense of relief flood through him. Michael was nice, and yeah, he'd felt a bit of a tug when talking to him. Maybe he'd finally,_ finally_ found Arthur.

He could only hope.

* * *

**is Michael Arthur ? we just don't know do we**

**but we will**

**in due time**

**dUE TIME**

**idek I don't know what to say about this one other than its super short and 99% of it is a filler so please dont hate me**

**oh and in the next chapter we get to see drunk Merlin hahahaha should be interesting**

**ill probably update twice today bc i wrote two chapters at work and i totally forgot to post this one idek **

**-notreallymagical**


	6. Chapter 6

"So, this is a high school party?"

Merlin looked around the place in bewilderment. There was so much going on! People were talking, laughing, running around.

"Yup. You ever been to one?" Sara looked up at him and smiled.

Merlin shook his head. "Nope."

"Oh, man, we're gonna get you so wasted!" Cody yelled with a laugh.

Merlin looked at him and tilted his head in confusion. Man, for being alive a thousand years, he really did a horrid job keeping up with the modern world.

"What's that?" he asked.

They all looked at him. "Oh, man, this is gonna be fun." Carly threw her arm around Merlin's shoulder and led him into the crowd of people.

Merlin couldn't help feeling a bit panicky; He was never one for tight spaces. But he forced the feeling down and walked with Carly, Sara and Cody trailing behind them.

"Here you go. I'm assuming it's your first." Carly handed him an odd-shaped bottle and pulled the top off using a piece of metal with a hole in it.

She shoved it into Merlin's hands and he stared down at it. Was he meant to drink it? As he sloshed it around in the bottle, he didn't think it looked overly appealing. Sure, he'd drank ale before, but not this. It looked like urine.

But, he looked up at the others- except Sara, she said she wasn't drinking because she had cheerleading practice in the morning- and realized they were all drinking theirs and looking at him expectantly. If Sara hadn't given him a reassuring smile, he probably wouldn't have taken the drink that resulted in a burning feeling in his throat. Still, despite the pain it caused, he liked it. So he drank the rest of the bottle. Then another, and another.

By the time three hours had passed, he'd had around six or seven bottles of the burning substance.  
Eventually he ran into Sara, unable to stay on his feet as the world was swaying around him.

He walked towards her, tripping over his own feet and ending up laying on his back on the ground. He then looked up at her and she laughed lightly. He laughed, too, but harder. He ended up in a laughing fit, but he didn't really know what was so funny.

She offered him a hand and pulled him to his feet, and he gave a little hop as he managed to keep himself upright for longer than a minute and a half.

"You're so drunk." She laughed and shook her head.

"I'm whht?" Merlin slurred, holding onto the edge of the table for balance.

"Miles, how many drinks have you had?" She asked, clearly trying to hold down a smile.

He couldn't get the word out of his mouth, so he held up what he hoped to be seven fingers.

"Wow, for such a small kid you sure can hold a drink."

"I'm_ tiiireeeed._" Merlin whined, leaning his head on Sara's shoulder.

"I know." She laughed, reaching a hand up and stroking his hair. "We can go soon."

Merlin nodded but didn't say anything else. He doubted his ability to speak, so he didn't.

"Guys, come see this!"

Merlin looked up as Carly waved them over.

Sara looked up at Merlin, who stood up straight and followed Carly out into the yard.

He looked around for anything of interest, but nothing seemed vitally important.

"I don't see any-"

He was cut off as Carly and Sara grabbed him and pulled him toward the pool.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" He yelled.

They gave him a shove over the edge and he lost his footing, looking for something to grab onto. He wrapped his hand around Sara's wrist just in time to pull her with him into the pool.

They both hit the water with a splash.

Merlin thanked himself for leaving his cell phone at home as he swam to the surface, Sara rising a few seconds afterwards.

"That wasn't nice!" He pouted, pulling himself out of the pool to sit on the ledge.

Carly patted him on the head before wrapping a towel around his now shaking shoulders. Sara was out after him, also receiving a towel from Carly.

"Looks like you guys had a fun time."

Merlin looked up at the sound of Amber's voice and beamed at her. "Yeah, I got to go for a swim."

"Looks like you both did." Amber raised an eyebrow at Sara.

"He pulled me in." Sara explained with a laugh.

"Well, I didn't think you jumped." Amber held her hand out to Sara and pulled her to her feet before turning her attention to Merlin. "And I see they managed to get you piss drunk. Congratulations."

Merlin shrugged, splashing his feet around in the water.

"Everyone's leaving. It's already 2AM and we're lucky there's no school tomorrow." Amber said.  
Merlin looked around and realized there was only about 1/4 of the people left who were there originally.

"Miles, do you want me to walk you to your dorm?" Sara asked.

Merlin nodded more vigorously than intended, resembling more a five year old child than a sixteen year old boy.

And so, after Cody drove them back to the campus, they walked together down Brennan hall toward Merlin's dorm, both still wrapped in their towels.

"Watch where you step, I don't want to have to bring you to the nurse." Sara warned him lightheartedly.

Merlin realized he was stumbling and tripping over his own far-too-large feet.

"M'fine." he muttered, trying too hard for his liking to walk in a straight line.

They reached Merlin's dorm room and he gave Sara a smile before shoving the key in the lock (it took him three tries to actually get it in), and entered his dorm room.

"Bye, Sare-bear." Merlin cooed, copying Cody's nickname for the girl.

She laughed and rolled her eyes. "Bye, Miles. Try not to puke too much tomorrow."

And then she was gone.

Merlin stared after her, wondering what she meant by that.

It wasn't until the next morning that he figured it out.

Because, as he laid in his bed the next morning, he was overwhelmed by the sudden urge to vomit. He noted that Tegan was still fast asleep and reached his hand toward the garbage can. It slid across the floor toward him just in time for Merlin to empty the contents of his stomach into it.

He sat up and wiped his mouth with his sleeve, instantly regretting going to that party.

It's not like he'd have known this would happen. Ale had never had this strong of an affect on him. Then again, the most ale he'd ever consumed was no more than a pint or two.

This, on the other hand...

His head was pounding in his head as if it were going to burst out of his skull. He let out a pain-filled groan and fell back onto the pillows.

"Look at that, Miles' first hangover." Merlin turned his head to see Tegan smirking at him. Was that what this is?

"Make it stop!" he groaned again, shoving his face into the pillow as if it would dull the ache in his head.

"Take an Advil." was Tegan's advice.

"Don't got one." Merlin muttered through the pillow.

"Here."

Merlin looked up as the small pill landed in his lap.

He picked it up and studied it in between his fingers. "You're sure this is safe?"

Tegan rolled his eyes. "You really are uncivilized. Just take it. Here, have some water."

The water also landed in Merlin's lap- he had to admire his rommate's aim- and Merlin twisted the cap. He stared down at the pill for what felt like forever.

"Swallow it." Tegan instructed as he pulled his pajama shirt over his head and throwing it on the floor.  
"Like... Whole?" Merlin looked up at him with wide eyes.

"Yes. Put it in your mouth, then drink the water. It goes down pretty easily, actually."

Merlin wasn't too sure, but the pain in his head won him over and he downed the pill.

It wasn't the most comfortable feeling, but he managed to pull through.

"There, all better. Now get up." Tegan instructed.

"Why?" Merlin gasped, trying to force away the feeling of the pill going down his throat.

"We're going to watch the cheerleaders practice." Tegan informed him, pulling a purple hoodie over his head.

"Sara's a cheerleader, right?" Merlin asked, trying not to sound too hopeful.

A devious grin spread across Tegan's face. "Dude, ask her out if you like her so much."

"I don't like her." Merlin muttered, but he looked at his feet as he felt his cheeks flushing a bright pink color.

"I won't tell her." Tegan smirked, and Merlin looked up to glare at him. "Come on, then."

"But I'm still hangover." Merlin protested.

"_Hung_over," Tegan corrected, "And I'm sure it'll pass with the Advil and some fresh air. I told Lottie that I'd come to her practice and I refuse to go alone because last time I did that I got bored so I started playing on my phone. Jeez, I still haven't heard the end of that one."

"Is Lottie your girlfriend?" Merlin asked.

Tegan laughed. "My sister. She's a year younger than us. And she likes me to watch her practices, God knows why."

Merlin nodded and pulled himself out of bed.

"How drunk were you last night?" Tegan laughed again as Merlin got to his feet.

"Why?"

Tegan raised an eyebrow. "Because your pants are on backward."

* * *

**omg I love tegan so much**

**what's gonna happen at cheer practice hmm we'll see we'll see just u wait**

**that's all I rly have to say this is a huge filler and very short I'm sorry I'm a horrid person but hey this is my second update tonight so shut ur pie hole**

**Oh by the way I'm canadian so idk how the American school system works so I made it like Canada aka there's 4 periods/4 classes and the order of those four classes is different every day- except Monday and Friday are the same- so sorry if it gets confusing but that's what's up **

**oh and also merlins classes in case anyone was confused is heeere**

**-mr rolland - math**

**with amber **

**-Mrs parkinson - English **

**with amber and brodie**

**-mr Emerson - chemistry**

**with Brodie**

**-ms hale - history **

**With Carly, Sara and amber**


	7. Chapter 7

Merlin had to cast a healing spell when Tegan was out of earshot to be able to stay on his feet. But, he felt considerably better after dulling the pain in his head and making his stomach stop barrel rolling.

As he reached the football stadium where the cheerleaders were set to practice, he couldn't help but look around for Sara. He finally saw her as she was thrown up by three other girls and ended up standing in their hands.

Merlin jumped and waved to her. She took a moment to notice, but when she did, Merlin could see her smile from where he was standing as she waved back.

"Dude." Tegan laughed.

Merlin looked down at where his roommate was already sitting in the bleachers and took a seat next to him. "What?"

"If you don't want her to know you like her, don't make it so obvious."

"I don't like her, alright?!" Merlin snapped unintentionally.

Tegan shrugged it off and redirected his attention back to the cheerleaders. "Well, if you do date her, get me in with her friend there."

"Which one?" Merlin asked, trying to follow Tegan's gaze through the mess of cheerleaders.

"Any of them."

This made Merlin laugh as he leaned back on his chair, keeping his eyes trained on Sara as she got ready to be thrown again.

And it took about three seconds for it to go bad.

As she was lifted off the ground, one of the girls lifting her was off time with the other girls, resulting in Sara's flying over the first girls head and falling to what looked like her death. Now, it would be easy for Merlin to use his magic to save her. Effortless, actually. But he couldn't expose himself like that. So he forced himself to sit back and watch the accident unfold.

He was hit by multiple waves of guilt. First when Sara hit the ground, then when she reacted to hitting the ground, then when it_ really_ hit him that he could have stopped this whole thing from happening but made the conscious decision not to.

_"Sara!"_

Merlin didn't even realize what was happening until he'd jumped over the no-less-than 5"0 fence and knelt down beside the crying girl. "Sara, are you alright?" He whispered.

She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. "My ankle..."

All the cheerleaders rushed forward to help, but Merlin waved them all away.

"I've got her." he said to them before turning his attention back to Sara. "Do you think you can walk to the nurse?"  
Merlin allowed Sara to use him for balance as she pulled herself to her feet. As soon as she placed weight on her foot, though, she fell over again.

Merlin grabbed her shoulders to keep her from falling over and wrapped his arm around her waist. "I've got you. Don't worry."

Despite the obvious pain in her ankle, Sara smiled up at him.

The two of them limped out of the stadium slowly. As soon as they were out of sight, though, Merlin put his free arm under Sara's legs and carried her the rest of the way.

"Well, Miles, I guess it's a good thing you showed up today." She smiled as Merlin walked.

"I guess." he replied absentmindedly.

"Are you okay?"

Merlin met her eyes, confusion clouding his own. The girl was injured, and yet she still was worried about him.  
"I think you should worry about yourself." Merlin smiled at her, deliberately avoiding the question. Because, no, he wasn't okay. He knew he could have stopped this, and he didn't. He let Sara get hurt due to his own selfishness.  
He soon reached the Nurse's office and set Sara down in one of the chairs before going to the main desk at the front.

"Hi, uh, my friend was at practice and she fell and hurt herself." Merlin explained briefly, gesturing to the girl behind him.

The woman nodded and typed something on her computer.

"Name?"

"Sara Barkman." Merlin answered for Sara.

"Grade?"

"Eleven."

"Injury?"

"Ankle."

"Alright, take a seat."

"Thank you."

Merlin sat next to Sara on one of the uncomfortable waiting chairs.

"So, my roommate's sister is one of your teammates." Merlin started up an awkward conversation.

Sara nodded. "Lottie."

"Yeah. By the way, if I ever try to drink again, lock me in a cage."

Sara laughed at this, but her smile was quick to fade.

She sighed heavily, leaning her head on Merlin's shoulder.

Merlin was a bit surprised at this. Though, that didn't stop him from leaning his head on Sara's.

"Sara Barkman?"

The two of them looked up at the nurse.

"Can you help me, Miles?" Sara asked him.

Merlin nodded and offered her a hand to help her stand. She took it and pulled herself into a standing position, then started hopping, using Merlin to keep her balance as they made their way down the hall to the Nurse's room.

"Alright, Sara. You can take a seat there," the nurse said without even looking up from her papers.

Merlin helped her to sit on the higher up chair, then stood a bit awkwardly off to the side. It was a bit ironic, actually, as it was the same thing he used to do with Arthur.

"You can go now." the nurse said.

Merlin took a moment to realize she was talking to him.

"Oh! Right, okay. Call me when you're finished, Sara." he smiled to her and left the room.

"How is she?"

Merlin was a bit shocked to have Amber talking to him without spite in her tone.

"She's alright. They probably won't let you see her, though. I just got kicked out." Merlin explained.

Amber groaned and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "This is just like last time..."

"What last time?" Merlin tilted his head to the side in confusion.

"Miles, last time something like this happened to Sara she was out for two months. And, after that, she was too scared to come back. We had to practically drag her back to the team, and even then she could barely make it into the air, she was so shaky. She was just getting the hang of things again..." Amber let her sentence drop with a sigh.

"That's terrible. I thought Sara loved cheerleading."

"She did. Well, she does, but I don't know if she'll be back... She was our best flyer."

Merlin nodded in understanding. "I'm sure she'll be back."

Amber shook her head. "I wouldn't be so optimistic."

* * *

**aw poor sarebear**

**I am totally a cheerleader so I know what I'm talking about but I tried to explain it in a way that people who don't know what a "toe touch twist basket" is would be able to understand idk**

**so who do u think is arthur? I can say right now we've already met him but we haven't figured out who he is yet hmm what do yOU think because we find out in the next chapter dun dun duuuuuuun**

**also I despise this chapter but I was too lazy to rewrite it let's just pretend like this chapter didnt happen ok yay kms**

**also its really short**

**also it has no purpose in this story**

**also sara hurting her ankle is going to do nothing but cause problems for me to write around later on**

**also why am i posting this chapter**

**also also also also also**

**also im going to shoot myself sighhh **

**ok well enough on this chapter im going to rant about my problems now**

**well today in drama class we were playing "honey i love you" and if you've never played honey i love you basically you have to go up to someone in the circle and do something ridiculous and say "honey i love you wont you please please smile" and the person has to reply without smiling "honey you know i love you but i just cant smile" and if u smile u have to go around trying to make someone smile but if u dont the person trying to make u laugh has to go to someone else and try again**

**well**

**we were playing this game right ok so theres this guy named mike (or mikey ive always called him mikey bc ive known him for years but weve never been friends? its quite depressing actually) yes well mike was going around the circle trying to make people smile and nobody was smiling and everyone was laughing at poor mike's misery yes ok well after like the 6th attempt and failure mikey was getting pissed off so he's like jokingly getting frustrated and im like "wow mike u suck at this game" ok it was a joKE BY THE WAY TOTAL FRICKIN JOKE I WAS KIDDING MY GOD MY FRICKIN DRAMA TEACHER FLIPPED HER SHIT AND SHES LIKE "JENNA DAT WAS RUDE APOLOGIZE" AND IM LIKE WHAT THE FUCK I WAS KIDDING WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU GET OUT MY GOD TAKE A BLOODY JOKE JFC IM GOING TO KILL MYSELF IT WAS A JOKE AND SHE MADE ME FEEL REALLY BAD ABOUT IT AND NOW IM UPSET AGAIN BC I FEEL BAD EVEN THOUGH HE DIDNT LOOK OFFENDED BUT MY TEACHER MADE ME FEEL BAD WHICH SUCKS BC DRAMA IS MY FAVORITE CLASS AND I DONT WANT TO HATE MY TEACHER BUT REALLY? YOURE DUMB TAKE A JOKE MY FUCKIN GOD**

**sorry for all the swearing im really angry and sad wow bye**

**-notreallymagical**


	8. Chapter 9

"I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing, Miles. This is not your fault."

"I know."

"Can you get me the remote?"

Merlin reached for the remote and handed it to Sara, who began searching through the channels. They both looked up at the sound of a knock on Sara's door.

"I'll get it." Merlin stood up and walked to the door. As soon as he'd opened it, he was being drug against his own will down the hall.

"Hey, wha-"

"Shut up and walk."

He closed his mouth and followed behind until he was thrown into a room.

"What was that for?!" He instantly turned on Amber as soon as the door was closed. "Where are we?"

"My dorm." Amber answered, locking the door.

"You said you didn't have a dorm." Merlin raised an eyebrow at her.

"I lied. I just never use it. My roommate moved out, I only use it when I get mad at my parents and things like that." Amber rolled her eyes.

"So why did you drag me here?" Merlin asked.

The anger left her face immediately.

"I couldn't do it any longer!"

"Whoa, whoa, what?" Merlin yelled, shocked by her sudden outburst.

Amber sighed and sat down on her bed. "I've been having these... Dreams. Since I was a little girl, I think I was eleven when they started."

"Continue..." Merlin said slowly with a nod.

"It's about... Medieval times. I think I was a princess. People would always address me as your majesty and I go on all these adventures. And it's always the same people with me. And, don't think I'm crazy but... But you're on of them."

Merlin's heart stopped.

"Don't think I'm crazy!" Amber repeated, more urgent this time. "I thought I was going insane when I first saw you, but... I don't know! I couldn't keep myself from saying anything so I tried to pretend I hated you to keep you away from me because I felt like I was going nuts, but you wouldn't stay away. Miles, I don't know what to do."

Merlin knew right there. He knew why he'd been pulled toward this school. Why he felt something about Amber. He knew in that moment.

"Amber..." Merlin sat down next to her. "Have you ever heard of the legend of King Arthur?"

"Who hasn't?"

"Do you know about how some people believe that he will be reincarnated?"

Amber nodded. "What's that got to go with my dreams?"

"Okay, I'm going to tell you something, and you have to promise me you won't freak out." Merlin said slowly.

Amber looked unsure, but nodded. "Okay."

"My name is not Miles Wyatt."

Amber's eyes widened. "What?!"

"You said you wouldn't freak out!" he reminded her urgently.

She calmed herself down and sighed. "Then what is it?"

"My name is Merlin." Amber opened her mouth but he cut her off. "I'm a sorcerer. I've been alive for more than a thousand years. And I've been waiting those thousand years for king Arthur to rise again. Amber... You are king Arthur."

Amber's jaw dropped. For a moment, Merlin was afraid she might pass out. But instead of passing out, she jumped to her feet and backed into a wall, her eyes never leaving Merlin.

"You... You're crazy." She shook her head.

"I'm not."

"You're lying! You're not a sorcerer, magic isn't real!" She was yelling now.

"Quiet down!" He demanded. "Magic is real, and I can prove it."

When Amber didn't answer, Merlin went ahead and whispered the spell in old English that made the lamp on her bedside table levitate.

"You see?!" Merlin grabbed her by the shoulders. "Amber, you are the reincarnation of king Arthur!"

"I'm not! There's no way! For one, King Arthur was a guy, and two, he was a king. Royalty. I go to a boarding school."

"But it all fits! Your father owns a huge corporation- Sara told me." he said when she looked a bit frightened at his knowledge of her father. "Do you have a mother?"

Ambers face fell as she looked down to the floor and shook her head. "No, she died when I was just a baby. I never really met her."

"That's the same as Arthur! Amber, don't you see? Even your names are similar! Arthur and Amber. It's so obvious! How could I have missed this?"

"What?"

Merlin looked up at her. "I only came to this school to find you. I knew you would be here. How could I have just let it slip by so easily! And I thought it was... Michael!"

"Michael?" Amber asked. "Like, Michael Torrence?"

Merlin looked up at her in shock. "You know him?"

Amber nodded. "I wish I didn't. Asshole dumped me over a text message."

"Oh, that is disgusting." Merlin's face looked as if he'd just eaten something sour.

"Right? I mean, he didn't even have the decency to-"

"No, not that. Amber, after Arthur was killed by Mordred in battle, the dragon Kilgharrah came to me and told me that Arthur would rise when Albion's need is greatest. Mordred was also killed in that battle... I think he's risen, too."

"Mordred, like, Arthur's evil step-brother? You mean to tell me that I dated my step-brother?!"

"No, that's wrong! Mordred didn't have any relation to Arthur at all! But... Amber, I think he's out to destroy you."

"How do you even know that I'm king Arthur?!" Amber demanded.

"Close your eyes."

"What-"

"Just do it!"

Amber did as she was told, looking a bit afraid, and Merlin began to cast the spell.

"Alright, open your eyes."

As soon as Amber saw where she was, she started to panic.

"Where are we?!"

"We're in Camelot. Well, sort of. Look around. Is this the place in your dreams?"

Amber looked shocked and managed a nod. "Yeah, it is. How... How did you know?"

Merlin ignored her question. "Come with me."

Amber looked a bit shocked as she realized she could walk through people. They weren't really in Camelot, they were just seeing it.

Merlin drug her through the castle he knew by heart and into king Arthur's old chambers.

They walked straight through the closed door and Merlin made Amber watch the scene unfold in front of her.

"Look, Merlin, I have chores to do. Can you please take your petty concerns somewhere else?" A blonde-haired man spat at a stocky raven-haired boy.

"Arthur, you have to listen to me!"

"Merlin." The blonde repeated the name sternly. "I have my duties and you have yours. Why don't you go and get me my lunch?"

"You're not thinking rationally!"

"Go."

The boy gave himself a shove away from the desk, and Merlin smiled at the memory. He remembered it like it was yesterday. The boy walked straight through them and threw the door open angrily.

Merlin watched as Arthur sighed heavily, shaking his head and holding the bridge of his nose.

"I think I've seen this..." Amber whispered, walking toward the blonde at the desk.

As she reached out to him, the scene changed drastically. Merlin and Amber were now standing in a dark field, surrounded by battling figures and bloody bodies.

"Merlin, what's happening?!" Amber yelled, fear coating her voice.

"The battle of Camlann."

"Where King Arthur was killed?

"Yes. Come here."

Amber followed Merlin as they walked straight through the battle scene toward a clearing.

As soon as they made it, they saw the same blonde from the room kneeling on the ground.

"Is that king Arthur?" Amber whispered to Merlin, who nodded.

"Yes. Watch."

And she did, and she saw a tall boy with curly black hair advance toward the king. Merlin and Amber watched intently as the king jumped to his feet to deflect a blow. He seemed to be surprised at the sight of the boy, because in the one second it took to compose himself, the black-haired boy had shoved a sword into Arthur's stomach.

Merlin tried not to react to the sight, though he couldn't help but suck in a breath of air.

They watched as Mordred stared down at the dying king. "You gave me no choice." He said, staring down at the king with anger in his eyes.

Arthur then, somehow, got to his feet long enough to shove a sword into Mordred and stumble away.

"That was Mordred?"

Merlin nodded in answer to Amber's question.

"One more. Follow me."

Amber followed, curiosity and the fear of getting lost taking over her as she tried to keep up with Merlin.

He led her to a lake, where they saw two figures laying on the grass.

"He looks like you, Miles." Amber whispered.

"Merlin." He corrected her. "And that's probably because it is me. A thousand years ago. Do I look any different now?"

Amber laughed a bit. "Younger, for some reason."

"Probably because I was around twenty here. I'm in my sixteen year old form now. Keep quiet. I want to see if you recognize this."

And so they watched as Merlin held the dying king in his arms, Arthur panting heavily he spoke to Merlin urgently. "It's too late... It's too late. Just hold me. Please."

Amber tried to ignore as she heard Merlin's breath hitch beside her.

"There's some- something I want to say. Everything you've done, I know now... for me... for Camelot... for the kingdom you helped me build. I want to say... Something I've never said to you before. Thank you."

"Albion, we'll get there." Merlin said to Arthur. Amber heard Merlin sniff beside her and did her best to brush it off.

"No, Arthur." Merlin shook Arthur, trying to keep him alive. "Stay with me."

Amber felt herself start to tear up as older Merlin yelled Arthur's name desperately, tears falling down his face as he screamed, voice thick with grief.

Amber finally turned to Merlin, acknowledging the fact that there were tears running down his face.

He wiped them away quickly, and, in the blink of an eye, they were back in Amber's dorm room.

"I'm so sorry, Miles." Amber breathed.

Merlin was about to correct her, but stopped himself as the girl threw her arms around his neck.

He wiped his eyes. "It's alright. I knew he'd be back. And here you are."

Merlin saw Amber's face fall. "What?"

"I don't know how you can truly believe that I'm the legendary king Arthur. I'm sorry Miles, Merlin, whatever your name is, but I think you've got the wrong person."

"No, Amber, I don't. It's you, I know it's you. You have to believe me!" Merlin was yelling now, urgency taking over him.

"I'm sorry." Amber shook her head, and walked away from Merlin.

He'd lost Arthur again.

* * *

"Where did you go?"

Merlin ignored Sara's question as he grabbed his bag furiously.

"Miles, are you crying?"

Again, Merlin ignored her.

He turned to leave just as the girl hopped over to him and grabbed his shoulders.

"What's wrong?"

Merlin sniffed and shook his head.

"Come on, obviously it's not nothing because it's made you cry." Sara smiled up at him and wiped a tear from his cheek.

Merlin shook his head again, side-stepping away from Sara and turning to leave when a hand wrapped around his wrist and restrained him from leaving.

"You're not leaving until you tell me." When Merlin still didn't reply, Sara sighed. "Miles, I'm your friend. You can tell me."

"No, you don't understand!" Merlin yelled, tears now falling freely his face. "I can't tell you, I can't tell anyone!"

Hurt flashed across Sara's face as she slowly released Merlin's wrist, looking down at her feet.

Merlin felt guilty, sure, but not enough to stop him from storming away from her and slamming the door behind him.

* * *

**god dammit Merlin way to make her feel bad**

**now I'm sad bc I shipped them sigh**

**But hey now u know that Arthur is amber who would have guESSED NOT ME HAHAHAHAHAHAHHA im totally kidding of course i could have guessed I wrOTE IT and I made myself sad in the process because I love Sara and I love amber and now I'm upset goodbye**

**no not goodbye I still got shit to say**

**well today it was like 1am and it hit me how I wanted the story to end so I wrote it in a note and I found it this morning bc I forgot about it and as I'm reading it I canT STOP LAUGHING OH MY GOD THIS IS GOING TO BE SO FUN TO WRITE BUT LIKE THE THINGS I WROTE IN THIS NOTE IM LITERALLY WHEEZING I'LL POST IT IN THE A/N OF THE LAST CHAPTER BUT OH MY GOD I CAN'T BREATHE**


	9. Chapter 8

**I KNOW THIS ONE WASNT HERE BEFORE I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT I FORGOT TO POST IT SO HERE IT IS AND NOW IM FUCKING PISSED OFF MY GOD WHAT THE HELL WHY DIDN'T IT POST NOW ALL MY READERS ARE GONNA BE CONFUSED AND HATE ME GREAT YAY AWESOME**

**WELL HERE IS THE REAL CHAPTER NINE IM REALLY SORRY GUYS IM SO MAD I DIDNT POST THIS CHAPTER AND MDKSJNSKSJSKSJS SHIT**

"Amber?!"

Merlin pounded his fist on the door.

When there was no answer, his frustration took over and his eyes flashed gold as he threw the door open.

"Amber!" he yelled, running up the stairs and to a door with the name Amber written across the front.

He threw it open and Amber looked up at him in shock, ripping the headphones out of her ears. "Miles, how did you get in here?"

Merlin rolled his eyes at the stupid question. "You're going to accept the fact that you're king Arthur weather you like it or not!"

Amber shook her head. "I told you, I'm not the person you're looking for!"

"Yes, you are! You said yourself that you had dreams about it! Why are you so deadset against this?!"

"Because there's no way in hell that I am the god damn legendary king Arthur reborn, okay?! None!"

"Would you listen to yourself?! You're denying something you know is true, you're just too stubborn to admit it! You're Arthur, and you know it! Stop lying to yourself!"

"I have every right to call the cops on you for breaking into my house." Amber held up her phone to prove her point.

Merlin's eyes flashed gold again as he effortlessly pulled the phone out of Amber's grasp and it flew towards him.

"And now you don't." he challenged.

"What do you want?!"

"For you to accept this!"

"Get out of my house, you psychopath!"

She did her best to ignore the flash of sadness on Merlin's face before he composed himself, threw the phone back at her, stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him and making Amber flinch.

Why was she being so stubborn?!

* * *

Merlin's sleep that night was tainted by nightmares.

Well, more so dreams that scared the bloody hell out of him. He wouldn't exactly call them nightmares.

"Merlin..."

He jolted up at the sound of someone whispering his name.

As he looked around, he realized he wasn't in his dorm, but his quarters back in Camelot, of all places.

He thought he recognized the voice, but he couldn't quite place a finger on it.

"Merlin..." the voice whispered again.

Merlin stood up and walked out of the room, smiling as he saw Gaius sleeping on the bed. He sure did miss the old bat.

As he snuck into the hall, he nearly crashed into her.

He opened his mouth to scream but no sound came out.

"Hello, Merlin. Long time, no see."

"M-Morgana?" He stuttered.

"Don't look so scared, Emrys, I'm not here to hurt you. I actually came to deliver a message."

"What... How did you get into my dream?"

"You may have left Camelot, but Camelot hasn't left you. With my brother gone I realized just how stupid I was to have wanted him dead."

Merlin stared at her a moment.

"Wow, you really are deranged."

This earned him a slap in the face.

"Ow?!" he yelled, clutching the spot where her hand had probably left a mark.

"I'm here to help you. Do you want me to leave?" She threatened.

Merlin shook his head quickly.

"Well, anyway," she continued, seeming to have forgotten what Merlin had called her not a minute earlier, "I really have no idea what I was thinking, trying to kill him. So I've taken a new job."

"Which is...?" Merlin inquired, shifting his weight onto one foot and crossing his arms.

"A guardian of Avalon. And I've also been accepted onto the council."

"What does that mean? The guardian part, I mean." Merlin knew about the council- well, he knew of the council. He didn't know who they were or what they did, but he knew they were there. And how the hell did the clearly deranged Morgana Pendragon get onto the ranks? Merlin decided then that the council was only there to make his life miserable, just like everything else in the world.

"I'm here to direct you. Well, sort of. How did you think you knew where Arthur was? You didn't really think you had a sixth sense, did you?" she laughed bitterly.

"More of a seventh." Merlin shrugged. "I'd think my magic was a sixth sense."

"That's not a sense, that's a gift." Morgana raised an eyebrow at Merlin in a way that even Gaius would be impressed.

"So why have you come here?" Merlin asked mirroring her eyebrow and crossing his arms.

"I told you, I have a message for you."

"Yes, now please proceed to tell me the message." Merlin rolled his eyes. Man, she was almost as bad as Kilgharrah!

"You have to make Arthur see sense!" Morgana's voice had turned urgent so quickly that Merlin was caught off guard.

"Don't you think I've tried?!" he yelled back.

"Try harder! Merlin, they're talking about consequences."

"What kind of consequences?" Merlin asked, biting down on his bottom lip.

"They're... Threatening."

"Threatening what?"

"You'll find out soon enough if that girl doesn't accept who she really is." Morgana sighed.

There was something in the way she spoke, the true sadness of the situation showing on her face, that made Merlin trust her. The sliver of hope that she could see the good in herself again must have been for good reason, because here she was, much to his surprise, helping him.

"Morgana, I've no idea what else to do!" he cried.

"Find something!" She snapped. "Stop wallowing in self-pity and do something about it! I don't want to see this happen to you."

"See what?!"

"You'll know when it happens, believe me." Morgana muttered.

"Do you have any advice? Anything I can do?" Merlin had started to sound desperate.

Morgana shook her head. "That's something you'll have to find out for yourself. I'm sorry, Merlin, but I'm powerless here. Do what your heart tells you. I'm sure you'll find your way."

And then she was gone.

Merlin sat up quickly, his heart racing. Dreams that vivid weren't just anything. No, Morgana was here in spirit. And she was watching him. A guardian, she'd said. What did that even mean?! He'd asked, but she hadn't told him. Wonderful.

Merlin checked the time. 5:45AM. Being a Monday, he decided to just get up and get ready. There was no point in trying to get more sleep, he knew it wouldn't happen.

So he gathered his things as quietly as possible and snuck out of his dorm, making his way to the bathrooms.

* * *

"Hey, Sara." Merlin greeted her as he sat in his usual seat for history class.

He was a bit hurt as the girl rolled her eyes and turned away from him. Had he done something?

He was pulled away from his thoughts as Amber walked into the class. She seemed to be avoiding his gaze as she sat down next to him and opened her books. The first thing Merlin saw was the drawing at the top of her book. She'd drawn the knights- Gwaine, Percival, Lancelot, Leon and Elyan- and Merlin and Arthur sitting at the round table. This made Merlin angrier than before- how could she still not believe him?! She drew the bloody round table, for god's sake!

As the class went on, Merlin noticed that the picture was hanging out of her book slightly.

He held his hand slightly outward toward it, incanting the spell in his mind that would bring it slowly toward him, but nothing happened. He tried again, and nothing.

He went as far as even whispering the spell, but that only caused the paper to hardly shift it's position in her book.

No.

Merlin felt himself begin to panic.

No!

He stood up, nearly knocking his desk over as he made a dash from the classroom, ignoring Ms. Hale's calling him.

No way!

He ran down the hallway as fast as he could, throwing the front doors to the school open and running across the parking lot.

This couldn't be happening.

* * *

**well now I'm in the shit**

**sorry for the swearing idk merlin's maaaaaad**

**if u think this is bad wait until neXT CHAPTER HE LoSES HIS**

**SHIT**

**it's quite ooc but I felt like I needed some of that in here bc Merlin is gettin real tired of arthur not listening to him so stay tuned **


	10. Chapter 10

"Morgana!" Merlin yelled. It was a longshot, but maybe, just maybe she'd hear him and show up.

"Is there a problem, Merlin?"

Merlin whipped around at the sound of the voice, relief flooding through him. But it was shortcoming and the panic of the situation overtook him again.

"Yes, there's a god damn problem! What's happening to me?!" he snapped, despite how relieved he was to see her again.

"I told you there would be consequences!" she crossed her arms.

"Why am I being punished for her actions?!" Merlin demanded, helpless as he felt his magic slowly being pulled away from him.

"Don't ask me, I'm just the messenger." She shrugged.

"Well, can't you do something?!"

"Do you honestly think I can change their minds? Really, I've tried. They won't budge. You just have to try harder!"

"I don't know what else I can do, he won't listen to me!" Merlin wailed, clenching his hands into fists at his sides.

"Make him! You know him better than anyone, and I don't want to see you lose your magic. Nobody does. Especially because you're the last sorcerer left!"

This took Merlin aback. "I... I'm what?"

"The last sorcerer alive. Merlin, you didn't really think there was anyone else out there like you anymore, did you?"

"Well... I never really thought about it... I guess I hoped it hadn't gone extinct..."

"Nobody wants to see you lose your magic. But they're going to take it away if you don't get him to cooperate."

And, in the blink of an eye, she was gone.

Merlin groaned, feeling extremely tired.

He caught sight of a leaf flying around in the wind and decided to test it.

He muttered the spell, but the leaf just continued to float around.

He repeated the spell, louder and more clearly, but still nothing.

He held his hand up toward the leaf and nearly yelled the spell. This only made it come a little closer toward him, and left him feeling more drained than ever.

The greatest sorcerer to ever walk the earth, the last warlock alive, could barely move a leaf.

_Oh, god._

* * *

"Brodie!"

The redhead looked up at his name being called as he slammed his locker shut.

"Hey, Miles." he greeted, but it was shortcoming as Merlin grabbed him by the arm and drug him down the hall.

"What are you-" Brodie was cut off as Merlin threw the front doors open and marched Brodie toward the dorm buildings.

Neither one spoke until Merlin had thrown Brodie into his dorm room and locked the door behind him.

"The hell, man?" Brodie snarled, rubbing his arm where Merlin had cut off the majority of the circulation.

"You trust me, right?" The urgency in Merlin's voice made confusion cloud his friend's eyes.

"I'm not so sure anymore." Brodie narrowed his eyes at Merlin.

"I need to know that you'll keep this a secret. Okay? You can't tell anyone."

Brodie nodded. "What's so important that you had to drag me out of school?"

Merlin took a deep breath. "I have a... A situation."

"Oh, man, Miles, what did you do?" Brodie groaned.

"It's not something_ I_ did."

"What are you talking about?"

"Brodie, are you familiar with the legend of king Arthur? And his reincarnation?"

"Yes, why? Miles, you don't think you're the reincarnation of king Arthur, do you?"

"No, not Arthur. You know of Merlin, right?"

Brodie nodded slowly.

"I'm Merlin."

Brodie looked shocked for a moment. Then confused, then he burst out laughing. He laughed for a good five minutes until he finally started to breathe normally.

"You're pretty funny, Miles. Merlin!" he laughed again.

"I can prove it!" Merlin insisted.

"How? Are you gonna light my hair on fire?" Brodie was still laughing.

Merlin raised an eyebrow as the flame slowly trailed down the strand of his hair-a spark was all Merlin could conjure up- and Brodie's hair ignited into flames.

He shrieked, vigorously shaking his hair to extinguish the fire on his head.

"Now do you believe me?!" Merlin crossed his arms.

"Why did you... How... _Dude_?!" Brodie's jaw was nearly on the floor.

"I told you!"

"So... You're the reincarnation of Merlin?" Brodie asked quietly.

"Not the reincarnation. I... I never died. I've been alive for a thousand years. Waiting for Arthur. And he's here, and he won't believe me when I tell him, and now I'm being punished by them taking my magic away and i don't know what to do!"

"Whoa, calm down a second. You have magic?" Brodie asked.

"We just went over this! I've had magic for more than a thousand years! And now I've found Arthur and she won't accept her fate and they're punishing me because of it!" Merlin was rambling now, his anger at Amber taking over as he paced across the floor.

"This is... This can't be possible, though. King Arthur died a thousand years ago. And, if you're a thousand years old like you say, why don't you look like

It?" Brodie shook his head.

"Magic. I could turn myself into an infant if I wanted to."

Brodie didnt look convinced as he raised an eyebrow at Merlin and opened his mouth to speak.

"I swear to god if you call me a psychopath I may just toss you out the window." Merlin threatened while remembering what Amber had called him the day before.

"I just don't get how you could be a thousand years old, and how you actually think King Arthur is back. I think someone would've noticed a really old king walking around the hallways, Miles."

"Merlin. My name is Merlin." He spat unintentionally. "And that's exactly it, Arthur himself isn't here, just his soul. His spirit. He's been reincarnated into a student. Amber LeFraire, to be exact. And she just won't go for her being Arthur Pendragon." Merlin sighed. "And I'm taking the fall for it!"

"By losing your magic?" Brodie asked.

"Yup."

"So talk to her."

Merlin looked up at him. "Don't you think I've tried that, clot pole?!" His tone softened as he saw the shock cross Brodie's face. "Sorry. I'm just frustrated. And tired. I feel like I'm going to pass out."

"Well, we have to convince her. What dorm is she in?"

"She doesn't stay in a dorm. She stays at home, but she's in school now. And she's avoiding me as if her bloody life depends on it. And Sara hates me and I don't know why, and I don't know how I lost control of things so quickly."

"It's alright Miles, Merlin, whatever. We'll talk to her during lunch. Right now we need to get to class."

* * *

"_AMBER!_"

The girl looked a bit panicky as she saw the two boys rushing toward her. She looked as though she was debating running, but Merlin was relieved when she didn't.

"We need to talk to you."

"We...? Amber raised an eyebrow at Brodie, causing Merlin to roll his eyes.

"He knows. You have to listen to me!"

"I'm sorry, I don't listen to maniacs." She spat, slamming her locker shut and storming away.

Merlin muttered the spell that would stop her from walking, but when nothing happened, he sighed heavily.

"Dammit!" he cursed out loud, making a few people turn to look at him. He ignored them, taking off after Amber, grabbing her arm to restrain her from leaving.

"Let go of me!" She yelled, trying to pull her hand free from Merlin.

"No! You're going to come with me and you're going to listen, because if you don't, I'm going to get punished for it!"

"No-"

She stopped talking as Merlin, despite his size, picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.

"What are you doing?! Let me down! Miles, put. Me. Down!"

Merlin ignored her as she pounded her fists into his back, and he continued on his way.

It wasn't the most ideal place, but it was the first decent one Merlin came across- plus, Amber's attacks were really starting to hurt.

So he threw the door to the janitor's closet open and allowed Brodie to follow him in before closing the door and putting Amber back on her feet.

"Let me out!" Amber yelled at him. "You can't keep me here against my will, it's illegal!"

"And what are you going to do about it? Might I remind you that you're stuck in here!" Merlin replied in the same tone.

Amber reached for her pocket, pulled out her phone and began dialing.

Merlin had to practically scream the spell but the phone flew right over to him and into his hand, leaving him feeling more drained than before. He gave a smug smile and held the phone up for Amber to see.

"You... God dammit, Miles!" She screamed, kicking in a random direction and knocking over a mess of brooms and mops.

"Smooth." Brodie shot at her.

"You can shut your mouth, Thralls." Amber pointed a finger at Brodie and narrowed her eyes. "Mind explaining to me why you locked me in a closet?"

"You have to accept your fate, Amber! You can't run from it! You have to be rational!" Merlin grabbed her by the shoulders and stared directly into her eyes.

"I am being rational, you're the one behaving like a sociopath!" She screamed back.

"Only because you're being too damn stubborn to accept what you know is true! Amber, because of you, I'm losing my magic."

Amber's face softened for a second, but she quickly covered it up with anger again.

"I already told you that you have the wrong person! Christ!" she pulled her fist back and was about to slam it into the wall when Merlin grabbed it and turned her around to face him.

"Just listen to me!" he pleaded.

"Let me out of this room before I call the police." Amber narrowed her eyes at Merlin.

He sighed as he allowed Amber to pull her hand away from him and snatch her phone out of his hands before throwing open the door to the closet. She stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

Merlin could feel a headache coming on and began rubbing his temples as Brodie put a hand on the warlock's shoulder.

He had to be thankful that the redhead took this so easily, and that he didn't throw a fit like Amber.

But, really, what's the use if nothing was going right?

* * *

**"YOU CAN SHUT YOUR MOUTH THRALLS"**

**LITERALLY MY FAVE LINE IN THIS WHOLE FIC OK BYE**

**no not bye I have a few things to say about this chapter**

**a: morgana is nice yes bc I was devastated when she turned evil because I shipped mergana so hard in season 1/ season 2 like u have no idea**

**and then she turned evil and became "the darkness to his light" and like wow they're opposites how can u ship that idgi**

**but this is not a mergana fic so don't get into that mindset**

**b: didn't I say Merlin would be ooc in this chapter bc he's one angry little squirrel isn't he**

**anyway hope u enjoyed it's 1am so I'm going to sleep later losers**

**and c: i believe ive already covered this but i figured id elaborate ok well my information on the show may be a little off because im only halfway through s4, I don't know how the whole Mordred story works out or like Morgana's death or anything like that so I'm just kinda making it up and trying to incorporate everything I've learned from tumblr and other fics**

**Oh hey if u have a tumblr go ahead and follow me .com (:**


	11. Chapter 11

**well would u look at that i forgot another chapter**

**so heres this chapter im sorry im such a dumbass but this is what you missed sorry if u got confused with all the gaping holes my god what even happened there **

**again im super sorry about this idk what happened i was couting chapters and i had 17 in my notes and only 15 were posted soooooo**

**:(**

* * *

_"You wanted to see me?"_

Morgana held her hands in fists at her sides as she approached the great dragon in front of her.

"Ah, the beautiful Lady Morgana." he said, craning his head closer to her. "What a pleasure it is to see you here again."

"What's this all about?" Morgana spat.

"I told you not to visit Earth! And you directly disobeyed me!"

"I had to help him-"

"You had to do_ nothing!_ You have disrupted the balance of-"

"I haven't disrupted anything! I helped him to make my lot of a brother listen to him, and you took his magic away!"

"I did what I had to do! This was your doing, witch!" the dragon yelled angrily. "You went to earth and lied to the warlock, you selfishly abused your ability to transport between the worlds! It is because of your stupidity that the boy has lost his powers, that the last warlock in existence is no more!"

"That isn't true, I'm still here, aren't I?!" Morgana spat. Her anger was rising and she began to become afraid that she would do something stupid and get herself restrained.

"You are no warlock, you are a _witch_!" The dragon yelled, breathing out a breath of air in Morgana's face.

"I am no such thing! I may not be as powerful as him, but I still have magic, and I plan on using it to assist him. And once he convinces Arthur to accept his destiny, he will get his magic back. You aren't the only one on the council, Kilgharrah. They may have taken it away, but I _know_ they won't keep it."

Morgana snarled, clenching and unclenching her fists in anger and frustration.

The dragon sat back and gave Morgana a smug look. "Very well, witch, if what you so badly want is to help the boy, then help him you shall."

"What is that supposed to mean?!" Morgana yelled, but Kilgharrah was gone. She was alone in blackness.

* * *

Merlin walked down the hall, his books in his hands.

He wasn't in a great mood- he hadn't been for the past few days.

With what very little magic he had left, all it was doing was keeping him on his feet. He couldn't do anything with it.

And it was hard. After living so long with magic he found himself unable to do even the smallest things. He realized after a while that he didn't even know how to tie his shoes. Maybe he could get Brodie to help, but that would only lead to teasing and embarrassment.

So, as he sat down at his desk and leaned on his hand, staring hopelessly at Amber, then at Sara- who still wasn't talking to him- he could only try his best not to fall asleep.

It came as a shock to learn there was a "new student" joining them today.

Her name was Miranda Leigh, Merlin heard the teacher say. Merlin humored himself with how much the name sounded like Morgana.

That wouldn't have shocked him as much as the face that walked through the door.

She stared at him with a hopeless look in her eyes. As if she had no idea what to do. She was so helpless. Merlin couldn't help but pity her.

And she sat in the seat to his right- Amber had moved across the room to avoid Merlin.

"What are you doing here?!" Merlin whispered to her. The sight of her there, next to him, completely alive, was enough to shock him awake again.

"I'll explain later." she replied in the same tone.

And it ate him alive inside until the bell rang.

He was on her heels until she reached her locker and opened it. "Spill."

She sighed, slamming the locker shut- without doing anything in it- and turned to face him. "I may or may not have gotten banished..."

Merlin's jaw dropped. "You what?!"

Morgana shushed him, holing her index finger to his lips to silence him.

She looked around to make sure nobody was watching before she pulled her hand away.

"I wasn't... Meant to help you. And I did, and I got myself kicked off the council of Avalon."

Merlin looked at a loss for words. "I... I'm sorry."

"It's okay. It's not like I needed my magic-"

"Wait, they took_ your_ magic, too?"

Morgana nodded. "I didn't know until I woke up this morning. I mean, i was disposed of in a field and stayed at a motel last night, but i didn't bother to check until i woke up. But yes, they did."

"Wow. So you came to high school?"

Morgana's lips formed a tight line. "I didn't know how else to stay near you."

"I'm surprised you know what high school is, you know, because you've been dead for a thousand years."

She rolled her eyes. "I may be dead, but I've been keeping up on modern inventions. Speaking of which, I need to get myself one of those iPhones. They look really cool. Anyway, where's my airhead brother today?"

"Somewhere. I wouldn't know, she acts like if she gets within a hundred feet of me she'll combust." Merlin joked.

_"She."_ Morgana spat the word as if it was poison. "I just can't get used to that."

"Took me a while." Merlin laughed with a nod.

"Well, we should go find her, then. Knock some sense into her, perhaps?"

Merlin laughed again. "Alright, Miranda Leigh."

Morgana rolled her eyes. "It sounds like my name. I see you had similar thoughts, Miles Wyatt."

Merlin rolled his eyes. "It's one of many. You'd be surprised at how many names I've had."

"Like...?" Morgana urged as they walked down the hall. He had to admit, it felt nice to talk to her again without the fear of him poisoning her or her shoving an enchanted snake into his neck to make him try to kill his best friend.

"Uh... I was Jay way back, um, Jase, Josh, Tanner, Lance- inside joke, obviously- uh... Daniel, Matt... A lot of basic names, really."

"You suit Jay." Morgana said, staring down at her feet as she walked.

"I definitely have a preference for Merlin. At least Brodie has the decency to call me that. Amber, not so much. And everyone else still thinks I'm Miles." Merlin sighed. "I would've told Sara, but she hates me now, so..."

"Who's Sara?" Morgana questioned.

"My friend. Well, she used to be my friend. She hates me for some reason."

"Hmm, I'm sure we can fix that. Where's her locker?" Morgana asked.

"Right up there, why?" Merlin looked down at Morgana and raised an eyebrow. Morgana smirked in answer, making Merlin groan heavily. "Don't beat her, please."

"Gee, Merlin, it's like you don't even know me." Morgana rolled her eyes. "Where is she?"

Merlin nodded in the direction of the blonde girl. "That's her. The one on the crutches."

"Here, walk closer to me. And laugh." Morgana instructed.

"Why-"

"Laugh, now."

They both laughed- Merlin quite awkwardly- as they walked by Sara.

Merlin tried not to look but as he cast a glance he noticed the girl watching them intently.

"Stop here." Morgana said under her breath and turned to face Merlin.

She laughed once again and stood up on her toes, kissing Merlin lightly on the cheek and walking away.  
"Who was that?"

Merlin almost smirked at the voice.

"Sara, hi, didn't see you there." he said as he turned to face her, a bit of cockiness in his tone. "That was Miranda... An old friend from London. I had no idea she was moving here until she showed up. It's awesome. I missed her a lot."

Sara raised an eyebrow and nodded. "Seems you two are pretty close, then." She said as she crossed her arms and shifted her weight onto one of her crutches.

"Yeah. She was one of my best friends."

Sara clenched her jaw. "Well, I guess it's nice that you're not the only Brit in this place."

"Yeah, it's great." Merlin said, rather sarcastically.

Sara nodded. "I guess I'll be going, then. See you. _Maybe."_

As Merlin walked away, he couldn't ignore the sound of the locker slamming shut.

* * *

**omg Sara's so jealous I love her so much**

**so Morgana is now on earth**

**oh and btw if you were wondering what her "lie" was it was telling Merlin she was allowed to go to earth bc she wasn't the dragon wouldn't allow it but she did it anyway (she's only meant to talk to merlin in dreams idk you'll learn a lot more later on im keepin it subtle for now) and now she's been banished o snap**


	12. Chapter 12

**I JUST REALIZED I FORGOT ANOTHER CHAPTER U KNOW WHAT THIS GOD DAMN WEBSITE IS PISSING THE SHIT OUT OF ME BECAUSE I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT I POSTED THIS OKAY U KNOW WHAT U LITTLE SHIT IM JUST ABOUT DONE WITH U **

**ughhhhhh well anyway here you gO IM GOING TO GO DROWN MYSELF IN A BOWL OF BLEACH NOW BYE**

* * *

"And then the bunny runs around the tree and into the hole..."

Merlin sighed, dropping the shoelaces. "This is so dumb. Why do you keep referring to it as a bunny?"

Brodie laughed. "Because that's how all five year olds learn to tie their shoes."

"Yes, but I'm more than a thousand years old, might I remind you, and the bunny technique really isn't working for me." Merlin rolled his eyes and fell backward on his bed.

"Don't be such a girl, Merlin." Brodie laughed.

"Wow, If I didn't know any better I'd say you were Arthur." Merlin groaned.

"And why's that?" Brodie asked.

"Because I don't remember one day where he didn't call me a girl or throw something at me."

In response to this, Merlin was hit in the face with his shoe.

"Hey!" Merlin sat up and gave Brodie an angry look, making the redhead laugh.

"I'll get it." Brodie said as someone knocked on Merlin's dorm room door.

"Hey, Miranda." Merlin heard Brodie say.

"Morgana." The black-haired girl responded as she came into Merlin's line of eyesight. "So, where does Arthur live?"

"Uh... Somewhere down the street. I know where it is but I wouldn't be able to tell you the address because I don't know it." Merlin replied.

"So let's go there." Morgana raised an eyebrow.

Merlin shook his head. "Unless you want to be arrested, that's not a great idea."

Morgana sighed, sitting on the edge of Tegan's bed. "Well, we have to do something! You're losing your magic, Merlin! How can you just sit here and let them take it?"

"There isn't anything I can do as long as Amber won't cooperate."

"Then make her!" Morgana exclaimed. "Really, Merlin, you couldn't have thought of this on your own? Don't make me being banished from Avalon for nothing!"

"Help me?"

Morgana's face softened at the innocence of the boy's tone. She sighed, brushing a piece of his hair behind his ear. "Of course. Always."

* * *

"Kilgharrah!"

The dragon's head shot up at the sound of his name.

"What have you done?!"

"What ever do you mean, Guinivere?" The dragon tilted his head slightly.

"You've banished her! How could you?! She was only trying to help!" Gwen yelled.

"And what is it to you?" The dragon asked.

"The council is at odds because of your foolish choices!" Gwen informed him angrily.

"Foolish?!" The dragon brought his face closer to the queens and scoffed. "How dare you call my choices foolish? She disobeyed me and she had to be punished!"

"She was a guardian, she was just doing her job!"

"She was also on the council of Avalon, she shouldn't have been passing between the worlds so carelessly!"

"She did what she felt was right!" Gwen spat at the dragon.

Kilgharrah pulled his face back and nodded. "You believe that the witch should not have been punished for disobeying me?"

"That is exactly what I think."

"And you want to help, yes?"

"Not only me. The knights, too. All of them, not only the ones on the council." Gwen nodded.

"I can give you this. But be warned, with it will bear great consequences. When the time comes, you will be granted your wish. Until then, be gone from my sight."

Gwen nodded and turned to leave.

"And, Guinivere?"

Gwen turned around again. "Yes?"

"Do not ever challenge me again."

Gwen let out a heavy breath and nodded, then turned and left Kilgharrah alone again.

* * *

"Is there any way we can talk to the council?"

Morgana looked up at the unexpected question. "No."

"But you came here just as I called you." Merlin pointed out. "How could you hear me?"

"Because I was in a half-world."

Merlin raised an eyebrow as if to tell her to continue.

Morgana sighed. "As a guardian I have- er, had- the ability to pass between the worlds. I wasn't meant to, Kilgharrah had told me that. It was only really for emergency, say, if you were about to die. I could come in and save you. I was also not supposed to reveal my role to you. Which is one of the main reasons I got kicked off the council. Anyway, half-worlds are the state where I could see earth but I wasn't there, so to speak. If I were in Avalon I would have no contact with this world- none of us could see Earth in Avalon except Kilgharrah because he's the head of the council- unless of course you were in grave danger. You know how you could feel Arthur's presence?" Merlin nodded in answer and Morgana continued, "Well, it would be like that for me. Remember back in the 1920's when you so carelessly almost got hit by that train? Yeah, you're still alive because of me. You're bloody welcome. I could feel you being in danger. That was one of the times I could pass between the worlds. Something like coming to talk to you was no-tolerance for the council, and that's another reason I got kicked off. So, morale of the story, no, we cannot talk to the council."

"There has to be some way! Who else is on the council?" Merlin asked.

"Um... Kilgharrah, Aithusa as his apprentice, Gwen, Gwaine, Elyan, Percival, Leon, Lancelot, me, Gaius, Freya-"

_"Freya?!"_

Morgana jumped at his sudden change of tone. "Yes..."

"You never told me Freya was on the council!" Merlin yelled.

"I didn't think it was important."

"Of course it's bloody important! You think I wouldn't want to know that Freya is on the council of Avalon?!" Merlin demanded.

"I thought, with Amber here, you wouldn't..." Morgana let her sentence trail off.

"What does Amber have to do with Freya?"

"Merlin, do you not understand the reason Arthur was reincarnated?" Morgana asked slowly.

"Well, Kilgharrah told me he would rise when Albion's need is greatest. Which I figured meant. Well, you, but you're not totally evil now so that's a bit out of the question." Merlin shrugged.

"So... That's a no, then." Morgana concluded.

"A no to what?!"

"Merlin,_ you're_ a part of Albion, too."

"And...?"

"Arthur... Was given a second life so that he could finish what he'd started in the past. That doesn't only mean Mordred. That means you."

"But what about me?" Merlin was beginning to feel frustrated with her.

"You don't get it. But you will, don't worry."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Merlin demanded.

"You'll see. I've got to go, I'll see you later."

She stood up and left the dorm, leaving Merlin alone with his thoughts.

_So that he could finish what he'd started in the past._

What had he started and not finished in the past? What the hell was Morgana talking about?

Girls, he decided, were nearly as confusing as dragons.

Which was really saying something, because _nothing_ pissed Merlin off more than dragons.

* * *

Merlin walked up the steps to his dorm floor. He felt sluggish and tired from his magic draining, and found himself not willing to do simple things like getting up to turn the light off. Tegan had suggested going to the nurse to see what was up, but Merlin shook it off as the flu. Obviously his roommate wouldn't take "oh don't worry I'm just a thousand year old sorcerer who's having his magic taken away by the great dragon on the council of Avalon because king Arthur's reincarnation a-k-a Amber LeFraire won't cooperate with me" very lightly.

As he jammed the key in the lock, he nearly fell asleep on the door.

Finally he got it open and threw the door open tiredly. All he wanted to do was lay down and sleep

As he took a few more steps into the dorm room, he heard a rustling noise of Tegan searching though his bags.

Merlin opened his mouth to greet his roommate, but stopped when he saw that the person in his room was not Tegan.

It was Michael.

The boys stared at each other for a moment before Merlin's eyes darted to the object in Michael's hand.

His spellbook!

"Hey, that's-" Merlin started, but as soon as he took a step towards the black-haired boy, he made a dash for the door, spellbook in hand.

Merlin tried to stop him but he was just too tired and slow to catch the boy in time.

He watched helplessly as Mordred ran off down the hall with his spellbook.

"Morgana, Morgana..." Merlin muttered as he dialed the number to her dorm room.

"Hello?" the voice on the other end asked.

"Hi, uh... I'm sorry, I don't remember your name. Is Miranda there? It's important." Merlin rambled.

"Uh, yeah, I think she's in the shower, though. I'll get her to call you back in about 10 minutes." Morgana's roommate told him.

"Alright, tell her it's urgent. This is Miles, by the way. Thanks."

He slammed the phone down, letting out a yell of frustration and slamming the toe of his boot into the drywall.

Ten minutes of panicked pacing and the internal debate of just going down to her dorm room himself later, the phone rang and Merlin nearly destroyed it in his urgency.

"What is it, has something happened to you?!" Morgana asked the second the phone was pressed to Merlin's ear.

"It's Mordred. He took my spellbook." Merlin explained quickly.

"Shit... What was in it?" Morgana asked.

"Everything I know. Things not even Gaius taught me. He could take us all down with the things in that book."

"God dammit." Morgana cursed. "We need to get it back. Before he has a chance to use it."

* * *

**well shit**

**just a forewarning after this things get really confusing and unrealistic and just utterly dumb but this story has been planned out for me since I posted the first chapter so don't think when the big thing happens that it's out of nowhere**

**so yeah don't be surprised when this whole big totally unrealistic thing happens just beat with me ok**

**that's about it I guess so bye**

**-notreallymagical**


	13. Chapter 13

Merlin woke up the next morning feeling different.

He couldn't quite place his finger on what it was, but there was definitely something off that morning.

He pulled himself out of bed, checking the time and realizing he was late.

Tegan hadn't even bothered to wake him. Great.

He groaned, pulling himself out of bed. He'd already missed first period, but he had a chance to make it to second if he hurried.

As he made his way to the bathrooms, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. He brushed it off as sleeping in on a school day, but the voice in the back of his head told him it was something else.

He ran his toothbrush under the water and began brushing his teeth, only bothering to look in the mirror to see how bad his hair looked.

He nearly fainted.

The person staring back at him was shocking. He was looking at his eighteen year old self. And he'd know it any day because he spent years in it during university.

Why had he suddenly changed? His magic had been keeping him sixteen and-

His magic!

He'd lost it!

And now he was going to become his own age... A thousand year old man certainly wouldn't blend in with a bunch of high school students. Nor would a thousand year old body be able to survive.

He began to panic, not caring that he was still in his baggy white t-shirt, blue plaid pajama pants and slippers as he rushed to the school building.

He racked his mind for what class she would be in, but he didn't know her schedule yet.

He could feel some magic, barely any and significantly less than the amount he'd had yesterday. Why had it plummeted so fast?

He stopped running and began to focus. He could feel what sliver of magic he had left start to feel active, and he clutched his head at the effort it took.

It wasn't easy magic to master, unless of course you were a Druid, and having barely any magic didn't make it easier. But somehow he managed to muster up enough to send the telepathic message to her.

_Morgana!_

He nearly passed out from the blow it took to him. He was stumbling down the halls, holding onto the lockers for support, when she found him.

"Merlin! What in god's name happened?"

"My magic... I've almost lost it. I don't know what's happening." Merlin shook his head.

"Well, you were using it to keep yourself young. And now that you don't have it..." Morgana shook her head.

"Why aren't you losing your age?" Merlin asked her.

"Because I was dead until a few days ago. I've no reason to age. I look my true age, and it's a bit saddening that I pass for a sixteen year old." Morgana sighed. "So, how old are you now?" She asked Merlin, kneeling beside him.

The boy shrugged. "I was eighteen this morning. Probably nineteen or twenty."

"And... How actually old are you?"

"One thousand three hundred and twelve, I think."

"And what will happen if you reach that age?" Morgana asked worriedly.

"Dunno. I don't have any magic to sustain myself. I'd probably die before I reach a hundred." Merlin managed a shrug.

"And how long until that happens?" Morgana asked.

"I was sixteen last night, eighteen this morning. I got about eight hours of sleep last night, so an hour would equal a quarter of a year approximately. Unless it starts to accelerate, which it very well could."

Morgana groaned, helping Merlin to sit on the floor in front of the line of lockers.

"So what do we do?" Merlin asked weakly.

"Maybe if Arthur could see you..."

Merlin shook his head. "It'd probably just send her farther away. There has to be a different way to deal with this."

"Like, what, visiting Avalon?" Morgana asked sarcastically.

Merlin slowly looked up at her, a devious smile crossing his lips.

"Oh, no. No, no, no. I've already been kicked off the council, there's no way they're going to let me back in there. Nope, not going to happen."

"Fine. Then I guess I'll just sit here and waste away. But hey, on the bright side, you'll get to see Emrys again."

Morgana looked thoughtful for a moment, then sighed heavily.

"Christ, you're going to get me in so much shit for this, Merlin."

* * *

**hehehehe ily morgana**

**sorry this is so short I'm just finishing up the next one which is like twice as long as this one so I'll post that tonight too to make up for the length of this one bc I'm punching myself in the face for this it's literall scene long maybe I should put them in the same chapter but on the other hand no**

**-notreallymagical**


	14. Chapter 14

**quick reminder to read the end notes, I explain a lot of things about the chapters in those, especially this one because its quite confusing. just in case anyone was skipping them, letting ya know now that they're important (:**

**now...**

* * *

_"Where am I?"_

_"You're in Avalon. You've been gone quite a while."_

_"Avalon? What happened to Camelot?"_

_"You... Something happened. Don't you remember?"_

_"Remember what?"_

_"You were killed in the battle of Camlann."_

_"I'm dead?! But... What about everyone else? Why are you here?"_

_"I'm here to help. Now, put our past behind us and listen to me. You are about to go on a great journey."_

_"I'm not going to stay here?"_

_"You can't."_

_"So what's going to happen to me, then? If i can't stay here?"_

_"You'll be sent back."_

_"Back to Camelot?"_

_"Likewise you'd want to go there. But no, you can't go back to Camelot. Not now, anyway."_

_"Then where will I be going?"_

_"21st century America."_

_"Is that where he is?"_

_"Yes."_

_"But how on earth did he get there?"_

_"Do you have any idea how long you've been gone?"_

_"... No."_

_"It's been more than a thousand years."_

_"What?!"_

_"Now, there's something you haven't been told. There's a bit of a... Catch."_

_"Like what?"_

_"You can't go back as yourself."_

_"So... What, then?"_

_"You'll be a high school student-"_

_"High school?"_

_"Don't worry, you'll get used to it. But that's not the only thing."_

_"What else is there?"_

_"You're going to be a girl."_

_"A girl?!"_

_"Also something you'll get used to. It's not so bad, really."_

_"Says you, you've been a girl all your life!"_

_"So you know I'm telling the truth when I say it's not horrid. And she's been a girl all her life, too. Just turned eleven today."_

_"No. No way. I refuse."_

_"Then stay here. Forever. And you'll never see him again."_

_"I, uh..."_

_"That's what I thought. This girl is a long descent of you, she's been hand-picked by the Ancients to endure this task. So, are you ready to go?"_

_"Wait, now?!"_

_"Yes, now. It's time for you to leave. Good luck, my brother. I know you'll do just fine."_

_"Wait! You can't just send me away!"_

_"It's not my choice to make. Goodbye, Arthur."_

_"Morgana, wait! Come back!"_

* * *

_"Welcome, Morgana. Nice of you to finally show up."_

_"Well, my apologies. I was actually visiting my brother. You know, the one you've had locked up in a box for the past thousand years?"_

_"He hasn't know but a day has past. He is still in the state he was when he first arrived."_

_"Well, shouldn't we let him out, then?! I don't know about you, but I think it's a bit unfair to lock him away until it's in our best interest to let him out again."_

_The great dragon seemed a bit taken aback by this. Nobody on the council other than the witch would dare speak to him in that tone. "What do you suggest we do, then? Wake him up and throw him onto the council? Let him know of what is going to happen to him? No, he shall stay there until it is his time. As will the Druid."_

_"Why do we need to send Mordred back with him?! Why can't we try to reason with him instead of sending him back with even more spite than before?!" Morgana demanded. The whole crowd gathered at the table gasped, nobody spoke to Kilgharrah like that!_

_"Because, Lady Morgana, we cannot send him back without reason."_

_"Isn't Merlin reason enough? I thought the whole purpose of this was to send him back so they could be together again."_

_"That is what the plan was. But the Ancients refused. It is not my decision to make. In order for the light to return, the darkness must go with it. Now have a seat, this discussion is not the purpose of our meeting today."_

_Morgana sighed and took her usual seat next to Gwen. The curly-haired girl leaned over to her friend and whispered, "Don't worry. Arthur'll be just fine. When the time comes he'll find his way."_

_The dragon gave the two girls a glare as if they were schoolchildren talking during an assembly, and they both shrank back in their seats._

_The meeting was as pointless as all the others, with Kilgharrah and Morgana arguing throughout, and Gwen trying to restrain Morgana until the black-haired girl got pissed off and stormed out of the room._

_As soon as the large wooden doors had slammed behind her, Freya sighed heavily. "She's just angry at the possibility of Arthur dying again. He is her brother, after all. You can't really blame her."_

_"If she can't handle herself, what is she doing here?" Lancelot shot the Druid a look._

_"She's trying to protect him. I don't think she's forgiven herself for killing him off in the first place. She doesn't want history to repeat itself." Percival shrugged._

_"I would be, too." Gwaine nodded in agreement._

_"But, if she's just going to argue with all our decisions, why do we still allow her to come to our meetings?" Will looked around the table. "It doesn't make much sense to have her here if all she's going to do is start pointless conflict."_

_"She is on this council because she was a part of Merlin's life, as were the rest of you." Gwen snapped, slamming her hands down on the table. "If not in a similar way, but she was there in the same. And if Mordred weren't locked up, he'd be here too. She may not have the same views as you, but she has good reasons for her actions and she knows what's good for Arthur and Merlin. Alright? She is a part of this council no matter what you say, and she is Merlin's guardian, so you will deal with her weather you like it or not!"_

_Elyan reached a hand up and placed it on his sister's shoulder. She gave him a sad smile before turning her attention back to the council._

_"We appreciate your concerns, Guinivere, but if she continues to act this way, we will have no choice to remove her from our ranks." Kilgharrah said to her._

_Gwen glared at him. "You're going to kick her off because she doesn't agree with you on everything?!"_

_"She is starting useless conflict."_

_"I agree with Gwen."_

_The entire table looked over to the space beside Kilgharrah. Aithusa sat tall, confident. It was weird to have the younger dragon speak, especially at council meetings. It just wasn't something she did._

_"Thank you, Aithusa." Gwen smiled._

_"We will keep a close eye on her. But, if she does anything against our rules, she well be tried the same way any of you would be." Kilgharrah snarled angrily. "This meeting is over."_

* * *

"So what book did he take?"

Merlin groaned, sitting back on his knees. "The one with the most powerful spells I know. It's locked, though, with a spell that only i know. He'd need it to get in."

"And where is that spell?" Brodie asked, crossing his arms and shifting his weight onto one leg.

"In here." Merlin reached for one of his books, an old thing bound in leather and falling apart at the hinges so that looked like it had been tossed into a fire. He flipped the cover open and noticed a gap in between two of the pages that hadn't been there before. He instantly flipped to that spot in the book to see that a page had been ripped out.

"What was on that page?" Morgana asked nervously.

"The spell to open the book. This is my book of small spells like lighting a fire or tossing a person. I didn't think anyone would even bother looking in here!"

"Do you think... Do you think he knows? That he's Mordred, I mean." Morgana bit her lip.

"Michael's not a dumb kid. If he's having anything like Amber- dreams and memories and stuff- and he hasn't figured it out yet, he's at least got a suspicion. But why would he want your spellbook if he had no use for it? Obviously he knows, how else would he even know what book to take if it was locked and he couldn't open it to see?" Morgana and Merlin both shot Brodie a look and he shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, really."

Merlin groaned again, putting his head in his hands. "That's it. We lost. Because Amber won't cooperate and Michael is onto us. I can't believe I knew who he was and i didn't even bother watching him! I was too preoccupied with the prospect of having Arthur back, and now he's going to be destroyed by Mordred again, and it's all my fault!"

"It's not your fault, Merlin. We all should have made more of an effort to stop him. Who knows? Maybe it's not too late. We can still save Arthur." Morgana said soothingly, bending down next to the warlock and placing her hand comfortingly on his back.

"This isn't just the end of her, this is the end of us. Mordred obviously has his magic, what else would he need a spellbook and a spell to open it for? We're screwed. All of us. We're going to die, we're going to go off the charts and nobody's ever going to know what happened to us. We're goners." Merlin muttered. "We're complete and utter goners."

Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, Brodie was lying on the floor clutching his head.

"What's wrong?!" Morgana gasped, rushing over to the redhead's side.

Brodie was gasping, nearly coughing up his lungs. When he finally composed himself and sat up, his eyes were wide.

"Brodie, what happened?" Merlin asked his friend.

"I... I don't know. It's like he was in my head. Is that even possible?" Brodie panted.

Merlin and Morgana exchanged a knowing look. "Mordred was a Druid. He had the power to send telepathic messages through people's minds. He knew i was Emrys before I did." Merlin explained.

"Wait, Emrys? How many damn names do you have?"

"Just the two. What did he say?"

"He just called my name. Well, screamed it, actually. It hurt."

Merlin bit his lip thoughtfully. "So Michael does have magic. But it never hurt me when he spoke to me in my mind."

"Me neither." Morgana raised an eyebrow. "Must be new."

"He definitely has my spellbook. The head pain is a spell I had, and the telepathic messages must have been brought with him. He's less powerful than we thought, though. That spell should have knocked Brodie out cold. Could even kill a person if you're strong enough. A really slow and painful death. It's quite scary, actually. I've never even used it."

Looks of fear and relief both crossed Brodie's face. He gave his hair a shake and it fell into it's usual bushy style, the color accenting his grey eyes sharply.

"Well, that's really comforting, thanks." Brodie said sarcastically, still clutching his head.

"Sorry. If I had magic I would fix it." Merlin gave his friend a lopsided smile.

"Is it all gone?" Morgana asked.

Merlin nodded solemnly. "It's weird, really, I don't know how I haven't reached thirty yet. Guess the council is taking mercy on me."

It was true. Merlin had aged quickly at the start, but as the years passed him, he started to slow. They assumed he was somewhere in the mid-twenties, no older than Morgana, but it was hard to tell as he hadn't spent much time in his twenties over the years. He hadn't aged a year in two days.

"That's good, then." Morgana nodded.

"Yeah, well, it'd be nice to be sixteen again. The school keeps calling and asking where I am. Tegan doesn't even know I'm here. Everyone thinks I went on an 'emergency trip' to visit my parents." Merlin sighed.

"Oh yeah, speaking of that, Sara asked me what was going on with you." Brodie said absentmindedly.

"Yes, well, we can explain it to her after we visit the council." Morgana snapped. "If you're really going to make me do this, I want to get it over with. Now, first of all, we have to find the portal." She was clearly flustered at even the thought of speaking to the council again, and even more about tracking down the portal to get there.

"It can't be that hard to find." Merlin shrugged. "It's got to be near. I'm sure you were the last one to use it, I don't think anyone else on the council would have any reason to come down here."

"Yeah, and it's not like the Ancients ever leave their castle to do anything." Morgana scoffed. "Lazy lots."

"Unless one of the guardians-or-whatever-they're-called used it." Brodie said nonchalantly.

"The guardians have their own portals, actually. They're not really portals, though. They can pass through the worlds from anywhere. I was sent here through the council-slash-Ancient's portal." Morgana explained quickly.

"And where did you end up?" Merlin asked her.

"In a big field a little ways away from here." Morgana said.

The three of them shared a look before hiding Merlin's books and making a dash for the door.

* * *

**so significantly longer than the last one but then again a centipede is significantly longer than the last one I'm still mad at myself for posting something that short**

**alright I'm going to explain the whole portal thing in a little more detail here ok well obviously the guardians and the council use different portals, the guardians portal is not really**

**a portal like, like Morgana said, they can pass through the worlds from anywhere at any time. thats why kilgharrah said "u abused ur ability to pass between the worlds" ya**

**the council/ancient's portal is more unpredictable, say you wanted to go to new york, it would bring you there but release you in a place nobody could see you appear (like it knows if theres no people are in a place and if there isn't it'd put you there) but yeah say you wanted to go to new York the portal could very well put you on top of the statue of liberty and that's where it'll stay until you go back through it or someone else on the council or one of the ancients uses it and it moves to where they are yeah you'd be stuck on earth if that happens unless u can track it down again**

**hope that cleared it up a little if you have any more questions about anything just ask (:**

**oh and also in case there's any confusion, the beginning part is when morgana is sending arthur back to earth, NOT when she told kilgharrah she was visiting him. he was unconscious when she visited him just like he'd been for a thousand years before that. so the first scene actually came AFTER the second, but I ordered them differently to make it more mysterious hmm**

**and the council/ancient/guardian ordeal is that the council is there to deal with the whole merlin/arthur and Mordred's reincarnation spiel, but the ancients have the final say in all decisions really**

**also the ancients are like the magic powerhouse kinda thing they're the elder sorcerers and they control all magic on earth (aka Merlin and that's about it) the council on the other hand is everyone from Camelot who was majorly involved in Merlin's life in one way or another**

**obviously you can see the difference in reasoning for being on the council in like morgana and will and freya they were all hugely different in Merlin's life but they all played large parts (except freya Merlin knew her for like literally 7 minutes)**

**And then theres the guardians who are like this system set up by the ancients basically they're like a guardian angel service and Morgana is Merlin's (WAS Merlin's) so ya idk it's really unrealistic but it's mY STORY NOBODY'S FORCING U TO READ IT**

**anyway if it's confusing you just leave a review or message me and I'll clear it up for you (:**

**shut up it makes sense in my head**

**-notreallymagical **


	15. Chapter 15

"Are we there yet?"

Merlin rolled his eyes at the whining sound of Brodie's voice as Morgana called over her shoulder, "Almost."

"My feet hurt." The redhead muttered as he stumbled along the path. "You're sure the portal thing is over here, right?"

"Positive." Morgana assured him, much farther ahead than the two boys.

Silence overcame the group again, the three of them intently listening to the sound of sticks cracking and leaves rustling under their feet.

Occasionally Brodie would ask in a whining tone, "Are we there yet?" Merlin and Morgana had much more patience, being around for so much longer than sixteen years. To them, this was no more than a short while. To Brodie, this was taking longer than Merlin had been alive.

"It's just up here." Morgana called, pushing a few branches out of her way.

Brodie was panting now, falling behind the other two a great distance.

"Keep up, Brodie!" Merlin yelled at him.

"This is taking forever." The redhead complained. "My legs are sore, my lungs are burning, and my heels feel like they're about to fall off."

"Just on time, then." Morgana smiled at them as she threw a few more branches to the side to reveal a massive field.

"That's the portal?" Brodie's voice shook as he reached a finger up to point at the massive, gaping black hole at the opposite edge of the field.

"That's the portal." Morgana nodded, walking across the field toward it. When she realized Brodie and Merlin weren't following her, she rolled her eyes and called over her shoulder, "Are you coming or are you just going to stand there looking as if you've just seen a ghost?"

It was a bit ironic because, if you look on the technical side of things, Morgana was a ghost. But Merlin bit back the comment.

Brodie was still standing at the opposite edge of the field, staring up at the portal with wide eyes.

Merlin rolled his eyes, giving the boy a shove in the shoulder.

Brodie walked slowly across the field as if his feet weighed a ton. As soon as he reached the portal, he stopped and stared at it. Merlin and Morgana joined him, looking significantly less scared.

"Well, come on, then." Morgana rolled her eyes, walking straight into the portal without a second thought. Merlin looked over at Brodie, who's pupils had taken over all the grey in his eyes.

"You alright?" Merlin asked him.

Brodie swallowed. "You're sure this is safe?"

Merlin laughed and nodded. "I'm sure."

Brodie bit his lip and reached his finger out to touch the portal. When nothing happened, he took a step into it, then another. Merlin waited until he was completely gone before entering the portal himself.

The world they entered was much different than what the portal looked like. Actually, it looked like Camelot. Not identical, there were some major differences, but not ones that could be spotted by someone who hadn't lived in Camelot's castle for as long as Merlin did. Merlin couldn't hold his smile down as he took it all in, the castle bringing back memories he hadn't forgotten over a thousand years.

"Where's the council?" Brodie asked.

"I doubt they're in a meeting right now, but Kilgharrah is just down here. He'll know we're here." Morgana said, walking off down the hall. Her heels made clicking noises as she walked that echoed off the walls of the castle so loud that you could easily hear her coming from a mile away.

The two boys followed her down the hall and to a long, dreary staircase. Merlin recognized it immediately, it was nearly the exact same as the one Kilgharrah had been locked in when Uther had chained him up beneath the castle so long ago. Must have been the only place large enough for him, Merlin assumed, otherwise the dragon would have never gone back down there. He wondered why he didn't just stay outside, but decided there must be some reason. Merlin made a mental note to ask Morgana later.

The three of them turned a corner to see a massive cavern. It was empty and silent, the only sound being the dripping of water a little ways down the cave. Merlin squinted to try and adjust his eyes to the darkness.

"Kilgharrah?" Morgana called as quietly as seemingly possible.

"You think he's gonna hear that?" Merlin spat.

Morgana shot him a look. "Well, sorry for valuing my life. I don't want that damn lizard roasting my ass, thanks. I'm not supposed to be here."

Merlin rolled his eyes, turning to look into the cave again. "Kilgharrah!" he yelled, his voice echoing off the dreary walls.

A sudden gust of wind sent their hair flying back and a chill run down their spines. They watched as the dragon lowered himself onto one of the rocks in front of them.

"Why have you come here?!" Kilgharrah yelled, clearly directing his question at Morgana. "You've been exiled!"

"I didn't come here for me." She snapped.

"Then why have you come? Have you forgotten your banishment?" he snarled in her face.

"Far from it." Morgana crossed her arms to hold her ground. "We're actually here because of Merlin."

The dragon slowly switched his gaze to the black-haired man. "You have something to discuss with me?"

Merlin clenched his hands into fists and stared Kilgharrah in the eye. "You've taken my magic."

"Indeed I have." The dragon nodded.

"Why? Why have you punished me for something Arthur has done?" Merlin demanded.

"You and Arthur have been bound together since the beginning of time, young warlock. The two of you are destined to achieve great things together, even if it means making sacrifices along the way."

"But this isn't a sacrifice, this is a punishment! And it's unfair, because I've done nothing wrong!" Merlin stomped his foot as he spoke.

"You gave up on him. True, some of this has resulted from his unwillingness to accept his destiny, but it is also because of your unwillingness to accept yours."

"But I fulfilled my destiny! I was to protect him!" Merlin argued.

"Which you cannot do unless he understands who he truly is." Kilgharrah finished for him.

Merlin clenched his jaw and drew in a long, unsteady breath, the closed his eyes and whispered, "Do I get it back?"

"When the time comes, yes. But until then, you will continue the way you are."

"And I'll continue to age until I reach a point where I can't anymore?" Merlin challenged, his eyes flying open again.

"Is that your main concern?" The dragon snarled.

"It's one of them." Merlin raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms.

"Well, that can be solved." Kilgharrah said before drawing in a breath and exhaling it on Merlin.

When it had cleared, Merlin looked sixteen again.

"You will stay in this state until you are rewarded your magic back, then you must support yourself again." Kilgharrah told him, then sat up.

Merlin smiled, looking down at his hands and flipping them around. "Thank you."

The dragon nodded. "Be warned, young warlock, with every action comes a consequence."

And with that, he spread his wings and took off toward the roof of the cave.

Merlin looked at Morgana with a massive smile on his face.

"How do you feel?" She asked him.

"Great. Like I still have my magic. Hey, while we're here, do you think we can visit Freya? And Gaius? And everybody?"

Morgana shook her head. "Not with me. I'm not staying here any longer than I have to."

Merlin nodded in understanding, his happiness to have been set back to sixteen overtaking any sadness this should have brought him. Merlin and Morgana then looked over at Brodie, who was still staring up at the place Kilgharrah had disappeared with a completely shocked and scared expression on his face.

"Wow, I'm surprised at how well you took that." Merlin said to him with an impressed look on his face.

As if on cue, Brodie's eyes rolled back into his head as he passed out cold, hitting the ground with a thud.

Merlin stared down at him. "Never mind."

* * *

Merlin, Morgana and Brodie emerged from the portal conveniently in the same field as before, much to their own relief.

But, as they walked through the path they had taken earlier, the atmosphere changed drastically.

They could all sense it in the way the trees began to sway while there was no wind, and the sudden cold air that made them all shiver.

"What's going on?" Brodie asked, hugging his arms into himself in an attempt to preserve body heat.

"I don't know." Merlin admitted, picking up a run.

They made it back to the city in about 15 minutes at a steady pace. But it wasn't the city. Actually, it was far from it.

"Where are we?" Brodie asked, looking around the large, open courtyard.

Merlin blinked slowly as their location dawned on him. "We're in Camelot."

* * *

**so yay kinda short whoopsies sorry**

**Also sorry that thia took so long I've been rly busy lately idk oops**

**but the story is about to take a massive turn just be prepared**

**that's about all I have to say other than omfg brodie I'm laughing so hard I love him**

**-notreallymagical **


	16. Chapter 16

"How the hell did we get here? Didn't we just leave this place?" Brodie asked, fear evident in his voice.

Merlin shook his head. "I don't know. Maybe-"

"Miles!"

Merlin looked up the staircase, shocked to see Amber running down to meet them. "What happened? How did we get here?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out." Morgana spat, taking in the whole scene.

"How did you get here?" Merlin asked Amber.

"I don't know! I was just getting home from school and as soon as I opened my front door I was in a castle!

I've been trying to find my way out of there for a half an hour!"

"Who else is here?" Brodie asked.

They were answered by Sara running down the stairs and sliding to a halt next to Amber. "What the hell is going on?! How did we get here?!"

"Everyone just calm down a moment." Merlin said to the group as he looked at all of them. Amber looked confused and a bit panicky, but her level of fear was nothing compared to Sara's. The poor girl looked like she was about to pass out. That would bring the total up to two faints in one hour. Brodie looked like he was holding in a scream, and Morgana seemed overjoyed.

"You're here?!"

The whole group looked up at the familiar yet unfamiliar voice.

"Gwen!" Merlin beamed, running up to the girl in a ragged dress and hugging her tightly.

"Gwen? As in queen Guinivere?" Amber asked from behind Merlin, sounding shocked.

Merlin ignored her as he looked at Gwen's dress. "You're wearing your servants clothes?"

"I am." Gwen raised an eyebrow as she looked down at her dress. "Maybe because this Camelot is different than the one we knew."

"What do you mean?" Morgana asked, appearing beside Merlin. Gwen nodded in the direction of Amber, who looked shocked to have Gwen acknowledging her.

"What is going on?!" Sara yelled suddenly.

"This is Sara?" Gwen asked, eyeing Amber's friend.

The blonde haired girl's eyes widened at Gwen's knowing her name. "You know who I am?"

"Of course." Gwen blinked confusedly.

"Wait, did you bring us here?" Merlin asked her. Gwen shook her head.

"We were just visiting the council not a half hour ago, we just got here and it was Camelot." Morgana explained to Gwen, her smile widening.

"Wait, Camelot?!" Sara yelled. "What are you talking about?!"

"I'll explain in a minute." Merlin told her. "Hey, where are your crutches?"

"Really, we're in a medieval castle and you want to know where my crutches are?!" Sara demanded. She rolled her eyes as she realized Merlin was still waiting for an explanation. "I don't know, as soon I showed up here I could walk completely fine."

Merlin nodded and turned back to Gwen. "So, who else is here?"

He was answered by Gwaine, Percival, Elyan, Lancelot, and Leon rushing down the stairs dressed in their knights outfits, Gaius tailing behind them.

"Look who joined the party." Morgana laughed despite the situation. "Now we need is Kilgharrah and Aithusa."

"Merlin!" Gaius called, rushing over to him and hugging him tightly.

Merlin laughed. "Hi, Gaius. Long time, no see."

Gaius let him go, a huge smile on both their faces. Merlin didn't have much time to be happy, though. His main concern was Sara. She looked as though she was going to punch something or someone if she wasn't told what was going on soon.

"Alright, calm down a moment. First of all we need to change into some clothes that better mach the current time period." Morgana said, looking around the courtyard and seeming to realize for the first time that the citizens of Camelot were giving them all odd looks.

"Good idea." Merlin nodded.

* * *

As soon as Merlin was changed into his old servant outfit, he asked Morgana to borrow a few of her dresses to give to Amber and Sara. He'd already given Brodie a set of clothes a bit fancier than his own, so the girls were the main thing on his mind.

He knocked on the door of the chambers that Morgana had given them and, after waiting a while, it opened and he came to face Amber.

"I'll take those." she said, reaching out for the dresses quickly.

Merlin pulled them out of her reach and shook his head. "You're going to need help lacing them up. And I want to talk to Sara."

Amber grimaced, looking over her shoulder into the room. "I'm not sure that's such a good idea..."

"Why-"

_"Miles?!_" Sara's voice rang out and her angry tone took Merlin off guard.

She stormed toward him, grabbing him by the neckerchief and dragging him into the room.

As soon as Amber had closed the door, Sara's hand collided with Merlin's left cheek, a loud smack sound echoing through the room.

"What the-" he started, but Sara cut him off.

"Why the fuck didn't you tell me you were a fucking wizard?! I can't believe you!" she was pacing now, the anger clear on her face. "And that you're Merlin?! A thousand year old all-fucking-powerful sorcerer?! All those times we talked about fucking king Arthur, and you fucking knew him?! And you didn't tell me?! And now you drug me out to fucking Camelot?!"

"I didn't bring you here." Merlin shook his head quickly. "And who told you?"

"Amber." Sara spat. "As if you told her before me."

"Only because she's King Arthur." Merlin rolled his eyes.

Sara stopped pacing and slowly turned to face him. "What did you just say?"

"You didn't know?!" Merlin demanded.

"You're trying to tell me that my best friend is king Arthur?!" Sara screamed.

Merlin turned on Amber. "So you told her my secret but you didn't tell her yours?!"

"Because I'm not Arthur!" Amber yelled at him.

"Why the hell else would you be in bloody Camelot?!" Merlin screamed at her. "Are you seriously still on this?!"

"If I was brought here because I'm Arthur, then why is Sara here?!" Amber demanded.

When Merlin didn't answer, Amber rolled her eyes. "Exactly."

"What more do you need to believe me?!" Merlin yelled at her.

"What is going on?!" Sara yelled.

The three of them got into a full-fledged screaming match, Amber and Merlin arguing and Sara trying to get an explanation, until Morgana stormed into the room and broke it up.

"I can hear your lot from three floors down!" She yelled at them. "What's all the screaming for?!"

"Arthur's being a prat, that's what's going on." Merlin said, crossing his arms and pouting like a five year old.

"My name is not Arthur!" Amber yelled.

They all stopped arguing as high-pitched laughter rang out from the other side of the room. The three of them turned slowly to see Sara pinned against the wall, laughing hysterically.

"What's she doing?" Morgana asked, staring at the blonde girl as if she was a psychopath.

Sara fell to the floor, clutching her stomach and bringing her knees into her chest.

"Sara...?" Merlin asked slowly, taking a few steps toward the girl. She stopped laughing abruptly, her eyes growing wide as she began shaking.

"This isn't real... I'm at home. I'm still at home, this is just... Just a dream... A... Dream..." her words got slower as she spoke to herself until, like Brodie just that morning, her eyes fluttered closed and she passed out cold on the floor.

"Great." Morgana muttered. "Anyone else wanna faint? We're about to set a record here."

Merlin rolled his eyes at her bitterness, something she hadn't lost in the regret of having her brother killed. He pulled Sara off the floor with the help of Amber and placed her on the bed.

"So now that she's out, mind explaining to me why we're here, exactly?" Amber crossed her arms at Merlin.

For someone so dead set against everything he'd told her over the last while, she sure was taking this in stride.

Merlin shrugged. "I'm just as confused as you are."

"Surely you must have some idea-"

She was cut off as the door was thrown open and Leon rushed in. "You must come quickly."

"What is it, Leon?" Morgana asked him.

He looked at the three still concious people in the room with fear clear in his eyes. "It's... It's Mordred."

* * *

**o snap**

**soooo next chapter we learn how they ended up back in camelot... oh and sorry if it was a bit abrupt and not explained very well but I didn't know how else for it to happen plus the scene with each person running down the stairs and joining the group was meant to be a bit comical bc like one person two people three people who the hell else is here**

**also we'll see a bit of a different side of brodie soon and I would say sara but I think we saw a different side of her in this one u know with her panic attack and stuff hmm**

**well that's all I have to say sorry this chapter sucked buuuuuut ya**


	17. Chapter 17

Morgana, Merlin and Amber rushed into the meeting room.

Merlin didn't have time to reminisce old memories of this room. He threw himself straight into the meeting, Morgana doing the same and Amber standing a bit awkwardly off to the side.

As he looked around the table, Merlin saw that only a few members of the council were there. Leon, Gwaine, Percival and Gaius were the only ones sitting around the long, rectangular table.

"Our patrols have reported sightings of a man who looked, by the description they gave, significantly like Mordred's reincarnation walking the perimeter of Camelot's borders." Leon informed the people gathered at the table.

"Wait, Mordred is here? As in Michael?" Merlin asked.

Leon nodded solemnly. "We believe so."

"Okay, before we get into Camelot matters, can we first discuss how we got to Camelot in the first place?" Morgana demanded.

"We believe it has something to do with Mordred. He knows who he is and what he is meant to do. What we don't know is how he got a hold of a time travel spell. Or how he managed to take us with him."

Merlin froze. His limbs stopped working and his throat dried up. The whole table looked at him as his eyes widened and he began to shake.

"I... I had... A time travel spell... In my book... He- he took it." He explained through trembling lips. "I knew I should have gone after him! I didn't think he was strong... I'm so bloody stupid!" He yelled, slamming his fists down on the table. "I can't believe I let him run away with my book! I knew what was in there... This is my fault!" he yelled as his eyes began to fill with tears.

"Merlin." Gwaine said sternly. The warlock didn't look like he was going to calm down, so the knight got up and walked across the table to him. "Merlin, listen to me." Gwaine said, kneeling in front of Merlin. "This is not your fault, alright? What matters is we have to take him down."

Merlin sniffed and nodded, though he was still certain that this was his doing. He should have chased Michael. He should have stopped him. He should have-

He was jerked away from his thoughts as the massive doors to the room opened and two people walked in. Merlin could feel his heart stop as he recognized them both.

Slowly, carefully, he rose from his seat. He walked stiffly toward the new visitors, until he was but a foot away.

"Hello, Merlin." she said with a smile.

Merlin let out a choked sob as he threw his arms around her.

"Freya." he breathed between chokes and cries as he repeated her name over and over again. "Freya, Freya, Freya."

She held him tightly, burying her head in his shoulder. "I've missed you greatly."

"I've missed you, too." Merlin sniffed as he reluctantly pulled away from her.

"I would love to continue this reunion, my love, but we must put the good of the kingdom first." She smiled to him and brushed his hair away from his eyes.

Merlin nodded, turning to the second visitor and giving him a hug as well. "Heya, Will. It's been quite a while, hasn't it?" he murmured.

Will laughed. "Sure has. S'been quiet without you around." Merlin let go of will and walked stiffly to his seat, wiping his eyes as he did so.

"So Michael has brought us here?" Gaius asked Leon once the group's attention had been brought back to the meeting.

Leon nodded. "That's what we believe."

"Where is Gwen? She's meant to be here." Percival said as he looked around the room.

"She got caught up helping the bushy-haired kid." Gwaine informed him. Merlin felt a tug at the ends of his lips at Brodie's expense.

"So why has Mordred brought us here?" Merlin asked.

Leon's face took a look of sadness, and... Guilt? "We don't know that."

"I think I do."

Everyone turned to look at Amber in surprise. She approached the table with a confidence that could only be Arthur and leaned over the edge, staring down at the group. "He wants a repeat of the battle of Camlann. If he wanted to just kill off Arthur, why couldn't he have done it in Los Angeles? He wants to fulfill his destiny, whatever the hell he believes that to be. So he brought us here to do it."

Merlin blinked up at her, too many emotions running through him. Then she did another thing that surprised him. She pulled up a chair and joined the meeting. Merlin pushed his shock at this down and forced himself to concentrate. The surprise of being back in Camelot, the joy of seeing Freya again, the shock of Amber really becoming Arthur, made his head spin.

"Merlin? Are you alright?" Morgana whispered from next to him. Merlin realized he was pulling his hair out of his scalp. He pried his hands away from his head and placed them on his lap, nervously tapping them on his knee. Morgana watched him a moment longer before turning her attention back to the meeting.

"So when do you expect this to happen, then?" Percival asked Amber with raised eyebrows.

"Dunno. But you guys should probably prepare for when it does happen."

"What do you mean, you guys?" Morgana asked.

"Oh, there's no way I'm fighting in a medieval war. Sorry, I'm going to find some way to get me and Sara and Thralls out of here. Well, if Thralls wants to go. You never know with that kid," Amber sighed, shaking her head and standing up.

"You can't go..." Merlin whispered, not loud enough for Amber to hear. As the blonde about reached the open doors, Merlin stood up to face her. "You're not going anywhere."

"Just you try and stop me." She called over her shoulder without even bothering to stop or look back at him.

Merlin nearly screamed with anger. The doors suddenly slammed closed, without anyone touching them, and everyone in the room turned to look at Merlin.

"My... I have my magic?" he breathed, looking down at Morgana as if she could answer him.

She smiled. "It would appear so."

Amber was still standing at the door, staring at Merlin in shock.

Merlin shot her a look before sitting here. "Get over here, we have a battle to discuss."

* * *

**Okay so I think I've got everything sorted out with the whole missing chapter ordeal here, so chapters 9 (it's labeled chapter 8 but it is in fact chapter nine), chapter 11 and chapter 12 are all new. So if you can fix your mindset and squeeze those in then go right ahead**

**also I'm really really sorry about this happening but I hope you guys held on long enough for me to fix everything, if you did u rock and I'm going to buy you pizza**

**I'm going to make it like a weekly thing to go through and make sure all chapters are still intact, hopefully nothing like this ever happens again fingers crossed**

**soooooo really short I'm sorry please don't kill me**

**there's literally nothing I have to say about this chapter maybe it's because I'm about to pass out bc tired but this isn't even a note this is me complaining that I want to sleep meanwhile I'm keeping myself up by writing this #logic**

**anyway will and freya hmmmmm o snap**

**plus this is another short one but i'll update tomorrow to hopefully make up for it**

**-notreallymagical **


	18. Chapter 18

Merlin was more than excited to have his magic back. Plus the fact that nobody on the council had died at this date, or that the council didn't even exist, hich was a relief to Merlin, because now he didn't have a collection of his dead friends keeping a constant watch over him.

But, like Gwen said the morning before, this Camelot was _much_ different. By the careless use of magic in the streets, Merlin could tell that it had never been banned, which meant Uther had never spited the practice. And Freya and Will were still alive, so Arthur hadn't caused either of their deaths. Not that he'd caused Will's death as much as Freya's, but...

Merlin was pleased that all magic users could be free, but it still left many questions unanswered. How had things played out differently, having a princess rather than a prince? A queen rather than a king? Amber instead of Arthur?

It became clear after a while that Amber was beginning to accept her destiny. Merlin didn't know when it had clicked for her, maybe with every citizen of Camelot bowing to her on the streets and calling her "Your highness." Or maybe it was the fact that she somehow knew everything there was to know about Camelot, or maybe it was Merlin's constant calling her Arthur just to get on her nerves. Nevertheless, her slow change in attitude was a massive relief for him.

Sara had slowly adapted to it, too. She was weary at first, wondering how her parents would react to her being gone. Merlin had to explain to her the situation, how the time they lived in wouldn't pass a day with them gone, so she decided to just go with it. It couldn't be so bad, really. It was only for a little while, after all. And they weren't really missing anything back home, because at that point in time, their home didn't exist. It was confusing, sure, but she got tired of arguing with what was happening and just went with it. Then there was the fact that everyone was calling her "Lady Sara," but when she finally got over the shock of being in a medieval castle, she accepted the name and the situation. She'd even been given her own servant, a girl a bit taller than her named Marla. 'Course Marla didn't know where Sara had come from, nobody (other than the council and the people who had come with her) did. They thought she was just a visiting friend of Queen Amber's.

Brodie still hadn't gotten over the fact that they were in Camelot, not even after three weeks of being there. He was constantly out exploring the castle and the town. He hadn't liked the prospect of being a knight of Camelot, but it was the only way to explain the boy's presence in the castle. Sir Brodie had been a hit with the citizens, mostly because he was the youngest, most down-to-earth, clumsy knight in the ranks. It was hard not to love the quirky boy who's armor was two sizes too big because it was the smallest set they had in the armory. Plus, he could barely wield a sword, so it made the knight's training that much more entertaining to watch.

As Merlin walked up the stairs to Amber's quarters, he was met by Sara. He didn't know when the girl had decided to forgive him for whatever he did- he still didn't know what he did- but one day she just started talking to him like a friend again.

"She's in a horrible mood, just a warning." Sara said as she past him, obviously talking about Amber.

Merlin laughed and yelled over his shoulder, "When isn't she?"

He threw open the doors to Amber's chambers to be greeted by a goblet flying in his direction. He ducked out of its way and took a cautious step into the room.

"You seem to be having a good day." Merlin teased as he set down the tray of food in front of her.

She groaned, putting her elbows on the desk and her head in her hands while letting out an exasperated sigh. "I hate being the princess."

"You're the queen." Merlin reminded her.

She shot him a look. "Don't call me that. It makes me feel old."

Merlin rolled his eyes, the smile not leaving his lips. "Why don't you come out for a while? I'm sure whatever you're doing can wait."

Amber huffed, standing up and stretching her arms. "This is torture. I don't know how Arthur ever did it."

Merlin laughed. "About the same way as you. But his chalices actually hit me." Amber gave him a light smack in the head as a remark, which made Merlin laugh again.

"And these dresses." She complained. "You'd think i'd be used to it after almost a month. Don't you have any women's pants here?"

Merlin shrugged. "I could lend you a pair of mine."

Amber took one look at Merlin's trousers and grimaced. "I like the dress."

* * *

There was a mutual agreement throughout Camelot, especially over the past few weeks. Everyone sensed it, but nobody really spoke of it.

The serving boy to Sir Brodie, who was apparently of very high stature as he had his own serving boy, was obviously very close with the queen. The two spent more time together than Amber and her own servant. The queen would often console in Merlin, though no one in the upper or lower towns, or most people in the castle, knew why. It was just as if, one day, the queen and the boy became closer than usual. And it carried on throughout the weeks.

If any of the lower stature knights would mention it, the queen would get angry and the servant would get shy. It just wasn't a topic they would talk about.

But, of course, everyone else would talk about it.

The peasants went as far as placing bets on why the two were so close, and most of the money went into lovers. But if they were to look closer, they would see the two were far from lovers. In fact, aside from about half the town who thought the Queen and the serving boy were together, the other half predicted she would end up with Sir Brodie or Sir Gwaine. Really, they were the only two, other than Merlin, that she seemed to trust. Unless of course she married another royal from a different kingdom, but it didn't seem likely.

She often walked around the town, not like a queen but instead like a commoner. She never seemed to be one for fancy dresses, in fact, the townsfolk seldom saw her in royal clothes while out walking the towns with Merlin. She wore much more casual clothes than a queen should, but nobody really minded.

She did seem a lot more stressed than usual, though. She was on constant lookout, but none of the townsfolk knew what for. But since there was always something threatening Camelot, they didn't really think much of it. Plus, she was very young for such a big responsibility, being only sixteen and in charge of a whole kingdom. Nobody really blamed her for being jittery.

Really, all was well and peaceful in Camelot.

* * *

**so this one was written a bit differently than the others hmm well well**

**it may have been a bit confusing...ok a lot confusing but hey like I said before this is my story**

**I feel the need to explain this situation in more detail so here goes**

**yes they one day randomly showed up in Camelot but keep in mind what Gwen said "this Camelot is different than the one we knew" which basically means this camelot was raised by a girl instead of a man so obviously it's gonna be different bc like free magic and a much happier kingdom and hey she's survived three weeks without any attacks or invasions and nobody's died yet maybe Arthur should take some fuckin notes**

**anyway yeah they showed up to the camelot that amber had raised...it's kinda hard to explain idk it's like amber is arthur so when they got sent back to camelot it was the way it would be if Arthur had been a girl she didn't just show up and turned into a girl one day idk I'm probably confusing you I'm sorry I'm just tryna clear this up**

**well anyway if I have confused you just message me or something I'll try to explain better but yeah**

**and I know it's weird that they would all be sent back to Camelot like that but idk it wasn't meant to happen this story is writing itself I'm just pressing buttons I literally have no control on this im just kinda here hahaha**

**well that's all I really have to say please don't hate this story it's just about to pick up cross my heart**

**-notreallymagical**


	19. Chapter 19

Amber, Sara and Merlin were having lunch in Amber's quarters when the door was thrown open.

"My ladies, Merlin, you must come quickly."

They didn't have time to question Lancelot's motives, they acted on instinct and ran down the hall after him.

The three of them burst into the meeting room, running over to where Gwaine stood with the small, shaking girl.

Amber looked up at Lancelot who nodded in the direction of Gwaine and the girl, and she walked over to them and knelt in front of the child.

"Hello," Amber smiled at her. "My name is Amber. What's yours?"

"M-Mary." the young girl stuttered.

"That's a pretty name." Amber said, still with a smile. "What happened, Mary?"

"My village was overrun by big men, I ran away and came here." the little girl told her.

"Do you know who these men were?" Amber asked her.

Mary shook her head. "No, I don't."

Amber sighed but managed to hold a smile. "Thank you, Mary. Gaius will heal your wounds and we will find a place for you." Amber said, tucking a piece of Mary's hair behind her ear before standing up straight.

Gaius led the small girl out of the room as the rest of the group- Merlin, Amber, Sara, Gwaine and Lancelot- cast unsure glances at each other.

"This can't be a coincidence." Lancelot sighed.

Gwaine shook his head. "It's Mordred. He's in our kingdom."

Merlin looked around urgently. "Maybe if we can just talk to him, we can reason with him-"

"Merlin, while he was locked up, they cursed him. There's not a trace of good left in him." Lancelot said to the warlock.

Merlin swallowed hard and nodded. "I just hoped..."

"We all did. But since Morgana had become a member of the council, he was the elder's only choice. And they removed the goodness from him before sending him back." Lancelot sighed. "We tried to stop them, we did. But they wouldn't listen."

Merlin looked down at Amber, who looked more scared than everyone in the room put together.

"Are you okay?" Sara asked her, reaching a hand out to touch Amber's arm.

The taller blonde pulled her arm away from Sara, and walked to the door.

Merlin began to follow her, then looked back and said "I'll deal with her."

And with that, he threw the doors to the meeting room open and ran after Amber.

"Hey, wait." he said in a soft voice when he'd caught up with her. "What's wrong?"

"I just can't believe Michael is trying to kill me. He was, like, one of my best friends for a really long time. I dated him for a year. I just can't believe it."

"Amber, whatever part of Michael you knew left when he accepted his destiny. He's not Michael anymore. He is Mordred, your enemy. And it is your destiny to-"

"Don't talk about my destiny!" She snapped, a tear falling down her cheek. "I want to go home, Merlin. I miss my dad."

"I know." Merlin sighed. "But i can't counter his magic as long as he has my spell book."

"I get that I have a duty as a royal and all, but does it really have to happen this way? With war and bloodshed? Isn't there anything else we can do?"

Merlin shook his head. "You heard them, whatever good that was left in him is long gone. He's out for blood."

Amber nodded once, stiffly, and clenched her hands into fists at her sides.

Merlin sighed, pulling her into a tight hug. "You're not alone, you know. We'll all keep you safe."

Amber pulled away from him and looked down at her feet.

Merlin rolled his eyes, putting his hand under her chin and pulling her head up to face him. "I'll keep you safe."

"Promise?" She choked.

Merlin nodded. "Promise. I'll be at your side the whole time."

"You'd better be."

Merlin smiled down at her, pushing a piece of her long blonde hair away from her eyes.

She shuddered at his touch, his hands were shockingly cold. But when he retracted his hand she was left with that nervous feeling again. Was she only in Camelot so that she could die?

"I'm scared." She whispered, her voice shaking.

Merlin hugged her again, and this time she didn't pull away.

"I know." he whispered. "Me too."

* * *

"Freya!"

The girl turned at the sound of her name and smiled.

"Merlin." she greeted.

The warlock ran up to her and the two began to walk together.

"How've you been?" he asked.

"Fine." She said. "You've had quite the life, I must say."

Merlin laughed. "Quite."

"All those adventures you've had... It was amazing being able to witness that, you know."

Merlin nodded. "It was fun to live."

"I'd bet." Freya smiled.

"It wasn't much fun alone, though. And I've missed you a lot."

Freya's face fell.

"What?" He asked her.

She shook her head sadly. "Merlin, whatever happened in the past is in the past. We cannot continue what we once had. I'm sorry."

Merlin blinked in confusion. "But I just got you back-"

"I'm sorry." Freya repeated, walking away from Merlin.

"Wait..." he whispered, not loud enough for her to hear. "Come back..."

* * *

"You need to hit harder!"

Elyan stepped backward to dodge a pitiful blow from Amber's sword.

"Faster. Do the thing the enemy would least expect." Elyan instructed as he deflected another slash of her sword.

"Stop criticizing me!" she yelled, shoving her sword into the ground with about as much force as a baby rabbit.

"He's just trying to help, Amber." Merlin said quietly as he approached the high-strung girl.

"It's hard! I can't do anything right!" She yelled, giving the sword embedded in the ground a swift kick.

Merlin pulled it out of the dirt and brushed it off. "Elyan is a highly trained swordsman. He's giving you life-saving advice. My suggestion would be to take it."

"But-"

"No buts. You can't expect to survive if you don't know how to protect yourself." Merlin's words came out more harshly than intended- he was still upset about Freya's behavior this morning- but his face softened when he felt Amber tense beside him. "Sorry. Try again." he handed her the sword, then walked off in the direction of Brodie, who was intently cleaning the blade of his own sword.

"Having fun, there?"

Merlin seemed to surprise the boy as he dropped the sword, nearly taking off his foot in the process.

"Asshole." Brodie muttered, picking the sword up off the ground and wiping it off.

"I don't see the purpose in having a clean sword if you can't use it." Merlin raised an eyebrow at him.

"I don't like fighting." Brodie shrugged.

"Why, because it's gory?" Merlin asked.

"No, because it's embarrassing." Brodie rolled his eyes. "These guys are all experienced. And in their twenties," he added with an eyebrow raised in Merlin's direction, "And I'm an awkward fourteen year old kid with an afro."

"You don't have an afro," Merlin smirked, "it's just abnormally bushy."

"Great pep-talk." Brodie huffed, sitting back down on the bench and leaning his head on his hands.

"Sorry." Merlin shrugged, sitting next to him. "Sword fighting just takes practice. Keep in mind that these men have years of experience and you've only been here a month."

Brodie nodded but didn't look at him. He was intently watching Gwaine and Percival as they scrapped around, a look of longing on his face.

"Go ask them for advice." Merlin suggested. "They don't bite... Hard."

Brodie didn't even laugh at Merlin's joke. He heavily pulled himself off the bench and walked over to Gwaine and Percival, who greeted him eagerly.

The knights treated Brodie like their younger brother, they were protective over him and bought him ale because he wasn't of age in America and claimed it felt "immoral" or something. He hadn't enjoyed the special treatment at first, but eventually gave up and allowed the knights to treat him like a five-year-old. After all, even in their physical age, the majority of them were more than ten years older than Brodie.

Merlin tore his eyes away from the three knights- well, two knights and Brodie- as someone called his name.

Gwen walked over to him with a smile.

"It's quite amazing, what progress you've made with them." She smiled while watching the training.

"What progress? Amber complains more that a six year old girl and Brodie sulks like one. And I don't even know where Sara is, but she's the only one who can properly hold a sword out of the three of them. At least Will and Freya have an idea of what to do." Merlin sighed, casting a longing glance at the two sparring at the opposite side of the field.

"They were also trained in Avalon. I've seen the three others improve greatly." Gwen shrugged. "Amber is much better than she was when she started, she just has a short temper and gets fed up easily. And Brodie is amazing for his age, I've no idea why he thinks he's terrible. He's better than Leon was when he was fourteen." Gwen said with a laugh as the two of them glanced at Leon, who was busy shining his sword.

"Yeah, but why don't you try telling that to Brodie." Merlin rolled his eyes.

"They'll be fine, Merlin. It'll just take time." Gwen put her hand on his shoulder before walking back towards the castle.

* * *

Night was falling on Camelot as Merlin was walking down the hall. He saw Sara coming his way and hurried over to her, the stack of Amber's now clean clothes balanced on his arm as he was helping Juliette- Amber's serving girl- with her chores.

"Hey, we missed you at training this morning." Merlin said to Sara.

She shrugged absentmindedly. "I slept in."

"Really?" Merlin raised an eyebrow at her.

She nodded. "Yeah. I got up just as it was finishing. Gave Marla the day off tomorrow."

"That was very noble of you." Merlin said with appreciation.

Sara shrugged again. "I don't like having someone tailing behind me tending to my every need. It gets annoying, actually. I think she's the most underworked servant in this entire castle, though. Anyway, I'm going to bed. Was up late last night. Trying to figure out how to deal with the whole 'Mordred's knights invading Camelot's villages' situation."

Merlin nodded, saying good night to her before continuing on his way to Amber's room.

He opened the door to find her asleep on her desk.

He laughed, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. It was just such an Arthur-like sight.

He set down the clothes on the dresser, tiptoeing over to her and slowly lifting her off the chair. He carried her over to the bed and tried his best not to wake her as he set her softly on the mattress.

She groaned a little, her eyes fluttering open slowly.

"Merlin." she smiled tiredly. "What are you doing here?"

"You fell asleep on the desk. I thought you might be uncomfortable." he shrugged awkwardly. "Sorry I woke you."

Her eyes closed again and she let out a breath. "Nah, it's fine."

"I'll be going, then. I'll send Juliette up here in a little while." he said, turning to leave the room.

"No, wait." Amber called after him.

He stopped and turned back to her.

"I... It gets cold in here sometimes, and..." she looked unsure as she tried to think of what to say. "Look, this castle scares the hell out of me. Can you... Maybe... Stay here? Just for tonight, I mean. I... Never mind, I'm being stupid. Night, Merlin." she muttered as she turned her back to him and pulled the blankets out from under her and threw them over her head.

Merlin laughed, rolling his eyes and walking around to the other side of the bed.

He shrugged off his jacket and hung it on the edge of the bed above his shoes, then pulled an extra blanket out of one of the drawers and laid it out on the floor.

"Well, I didn't mean on the _floor_." Amber scoffed, peeking over the edge of the bed and looking down at him.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "What did you mean, then?"

In response, she sat up, pulling back the blankets and patting the mattress.

Merlin rolled his eyes, pulling himself to his feet and climbing into the bed beside her. She gave him a victory smile.

"Don't look so smug." Merlin laughed, giving the pillow a few smacks to make it fluffier.

"Why not? I won." Amber shrugged.

"You did _not_!" Merlin scoffed.

"You're in my bed." Amber said while raising an eyebrow nonchalantly. "So, therefore, I won."

"No, you didn't." Merlin insisted, crossing his arms and pouting.

"Did too." Amber laughed at his childish behavior.

"Did not!" Merlin laughed as he smacked Amber upside the head with his pillow. She instantly retaliated, hitting him back, before they got into an all-out pillow fight.

Merlin jumped off the bed, Amber hot on his trail, and ran across the room.

He threw a few weak hits at Amber, but didn't hit her too hard in fear of injuring her, even though it was highly unlikely.

Amber swung her pillow back just as Merlin's eyes changed into a bright gold color and the pillow exploded feathers all over the room.

Amber's hair looked like it had been snowed on as she glared jokingly at Merlin. "You cheated!"

"I prefer to call it playing to my strengths." Merlin shrugged with a smirk.

"And your strengths are cheating?"

"Yup."

Amber rolled her eyes, jumping forward and reaching out for the pillow in Merlin's hand.

Merlin was faster, though, and shoved the pillow into her, and her back hit the wall. Merlin pushed against the pillow that was now the only thing separating the two, his hands on either side of Amber's head, effectively trapping her.

He smirked down at her. "I win."

"Alright, alright, you win." Amber laughed, ducking out from under Merlin's arms and making her way back to the bed.

Merlin joined her as she pulled the blankets on her side up to her neck and closed her eyes.

"Night, Merlin." she murmured in a groggy tone after a while of the two lying in silence.

Merlin, still wide awake, stared out the window at the starry sky.

"Night, Amber."

* * *

**aw fluffy**

**Sorry this update took so long btw it was a bit of a mix between meBoeing busy and having writers block and just being downright lazy so I'm rly sorry I'll try to be faster next time**

**hehehe clearly this is a merthur fic if u haven't yet figured that out? which idk how anyone could have missed it it's quite obvious really**

**and brodie I want to hug him "it's embarrassing" it's ok my child I will always love u**

**btw Amber's servants name is Juliette and I'm pretty sure Shakespeare invented that name but im not 100% certain but I think it's pretty so that's what I named her idk my history is probably really wrong but who cares fic means fiction fiction means fake**

**also lots of unexpected things will happen during the battle but it may take a few chapters to get through the whole thing sooooo just prepare yourself for character death and loTS OF OOC MERLIN THAT IS MY ONLY WARNING I HAVE REVEALED TOO MUCH RETREAT RETREAT but rly who cares I'm livin youNG AND WILD AND FREE**

**literally though when I say character death I mean more than half of the characters in this fic (and you've met them all already) are going to die ok that is a guarantee that is a promise**

**less than 50% of the autumn leaves characters are going to survive the battle of camlann 2.0 thats about it bye**

**-notreallymagical**


	20. Chapter 20

**ok the end note for this chapter is really really important so please please read it and leave a review to answer my question because I really really need some input**

**ok anywayyyy i hate** **this chapter but water u gonna do right**

* * *

"Modred has attacked another village."

Amber sighed heavily and put her head on the table as the news was broken to her. Merlin put his hand on her back to comfort her, but really there was nothing he could do. Amber would obviously blame herself, and there wasn't anything he could do or say to convince her otherwise.

As Percival concluded the meeting, Merlin followed Amber as she stormed up the stairs to her quarters. She left the door open for Merlin to follow her in. As he closed it behind him, Amber threw herself onto the bed and screamed into her pillow. "Are you alright?" Merlin asked her. She shot him a look, her hair falling in her face as she did so. Merlin sighed, walking over and sitting on the bed next to her. "Tell you what. I'll go with the knights to check out the village, then come back and tell you. Okay?"

Amber shook her head. "It's too dangerous. I'm not letting anyone risk their lives on my behalf."

"Welcome to being a royal." Merlin said, standing up off the bed. "We'll be back in a few days, and until then, make sure nothing combusts while I'm gone."

* * *

"Ready to go?"

Merlin looked up as Gwaine, Percival and Brodie rode over to him. He nodded slowly, closing the flap to the bag on his horse's back. He'd already gotten stocks of healing herbs from Gaius- not that he needed them, his magic was enough, but the physician insisted.

He'd said goodbye to everyone- Will, Freya, Sara, the knights, Gwen, Morgana and Gaius- but he couldn't find Amber anywhere that morning. He assumed she was busy so he asked Will to pass on the message for him. He pulled himself onto the saddle, hoping to remember how to ride after how long it'd been since he'd last been on a horse. The four of them were about to leave when a voice made them halt again. Amber ran up to them- Well, to Merlin- and hugged him as well as she could with him being on a horse's back.

"Come home safe, okay?" She blinked up at him when he'd let her go. He nodded, making an X over his heart with his finger as if to say _cross my heart._ Amber stepped back, watching with her stomach doing flips as the group rode off through the gates and away from the castle.

* * *

"How far away is this village?"

Merlin resisted the urge to groan at Brodie's impatience. He wouldn't have even brought him if it weren't the only excuse for Merlin to go. "It's a day and a half ride." Gwaine called over his shoulder from his position at the head of the group. They were keeping a steady pace at a lope, gallop being too fast for Brodie to handle and a trot being too slow a pace. It would take longer than the usual day-long trip to the village, but only by a few hours. But they were shaving off a few days by going through the Balley of the Fallen Kings rather than around it like Percival had wanted to. Merlin insisted there wasn't enough time to go around, so that was that.

As they approached the Valley at a trot, Merlin, Gwaine and Percival cast unsure glances at one another. Brodie looked confused as to why they were so nervous. Merlin swallowed hard, urging his horse on with a click of his tongue. "Right then, let's go." The three knights reluctantly followed him into the forest. Gwaine and Percival, like Merlin, jumped at even the smallest sound while Brodie looked to be enjoying his ride. As they we're about halfway through, Merlin couldn't help but feel a bit relieved at how they hadn't been attacked yet. Maybe they'd make it out of there unscathed and-

He was jolted out of his thoughts as the loud scream sounded and the treeline erupted with hoards of large men carrying swords and multiple other weapons. Merlin resisted the urge to roll his eyes and groan as he jumped off his horse and faced the wall of advancing men. He, Gwaine and Percival ended up standing protectively in front or Brodie, who's eyes were nearly the size of his hair. Gwaine and Percival launched straight into battle, Merlin staying beside Brodie and holding the men off as best as he could with his magic.

They kept coming in waves, more bandits than Merlin had ever faced in the Valley before. He was starting to feel tired, he hadn't had much use for his magic back in Camelot and this was the first time he'd really used it in nearly two months. He was holding of a rather stubborn bandit when he heard his name being called and whipped around to see Brodie holding off one of the men, his sword held lengthwise in front of him. Merlin threw the bandit back and Brodie gave him a look of relief. "Thanks." he breathed.

"You have a sword, swing it." Merlin told him before jumping back into the fight. Four of them were not enough to hold back this many bandits, though, even with Merlin's magic. "Retreat!" the warlock yelled, still holding back the bandits so his friends could mount before him. He knew there was no way all of them were getting out alive if they continued fighting.

Once the three others were on their horses, Merlin shoved his foot into the stirrup only to feel a sharp pain in the back of his neck. The last thing he remembered before the world faded to black was reaching up and feeling the sedated dart, Brodie calling his name, and one conscious thought running through his mind- he hated the Valley of the Fallen Kings, he really, _really_ did.

* * *

**veeeeeeeery short whoops**

**like this is less than half the length of my normal chapter length of my normal chapters but ill try to post the next one quick to make up for it**

**I just didn't know what else to write in here so idk**

**ok so I think I know what i want to do for my next fic, but I have two ideas to choose from so I really need some input on what you guys would like to read**

**ok so there's two ideas floating around in my mind, one is about merlin being thirteen when he arrives in camelot instead of nineteen or however old he was and the other is about merlin being the prince of camelot and arthur being his manservant idk I like them both equally I donT KNOW WHICH ONE TO PICK PLEASE HELP CAST YOUR VOTES BECAUSE THIS ONES NEARING IT'S CLOSE**

**-notreallymagical **


	21. Chapter 21

"They're back!"

Amber looked up from her desk as Sara threw the door to her cambers open. She was on her feet in an instant, running after her friend to the courtyard to greet the travelers.

"Gwaine, Percival, Thralls," Amber panted when she'd reached them. She noticed they all looked beat and tired, and that a certain black-haired warlock wasn't with them. "What happened? Where's Merlin?"

The three knights cast unsure glances at each other as Amber waited for an answer. "We... We got into a battle in the valley of the fallen kings." Gwaine started, and Amber could feel her heart rate start to accelerate.

"There was nothing we could do." Percival took over the story. "They got to him before we did."

Amber felt like her knees were going to give out from underneath her. "What?" She whispered, utter disbelief in her voice.

"I'm sorry." Percival sighed.

"He's dead?" Sara breathed from beside Amber, speaking for the first time in that conversation.

"We don't know that for sure. We'd like to assume not until it's proven." Percival said solemnly.

"You left him?!" Amber demanded, a sudden burst of rage flooding through her.

"We had no choice-" Gwaine began, but Amber cut her off in her fit of anger.

"You left him there to die?! How could you?!" Amber screamed. "I can't believe you would abandon him like that!"

"We did everything we could to keep ourselves alive-" Gwaine began.

"You did shit!" Amber snarled, clenching her fists into balls and resisting the urge with all her might to punch the knight in the throat.

"Calm down, Amber." Sara whispered to her friend reassuringly, but it didn't do anything but make Amber angrier. She advanced toward Gwaine with every intention of pounding his face into his skull, but was restrained by Brodie who hadn't spoken a word that whole time.

"Let me go!" Amber screamed, thrashing around in an attempt to get the boy to release his grip on her.

"Calm down." Sara repeated softly.

"No! You left him! He's going to die and it's all your fault!" Amber screamed, tears now falling freely down her face.

After she'd thrown every curse word she knew at the three knights, she let herself cry with less restraint than before. Brodie wrapped his arms around her and she pushed against him for a moment longer, then gave up and let him comfort her as she cried into his shoulder.

* * *

"Wake up."

Merlin groaned, slowly opening his eyes to see a familiar head of black curls and a pair of daunting blue eyes staring down at him. He jolted upward, only to be forced back down down by the shackles around his wrists. "Why have you taken me here?" He asked groggily.

Michael straightened up and began to pace across the floor of the house unfamiliar to Merlin. "Because. You're the one she cares about the most. If I have you, I have her."

"She'll never come to you, she's not that stupid." Merlin spat as best as he could with the tiredness overpowering him.

"I know she won't come." Michael laughed bitterly. "And don't worry, you'll see her again."

Merlin began to feel uneasy. Obviously there was a catch, he wasn't just going to let him go. Michael picked up a book that Merlin immediately recognized. His spellbook! He felt his fury rising as Michael began flipping through the pages. "Really, I never would have thought that you, Miles Wyatt, of all people, were Merlin. What a waste of such powerful magical abilities." Michael said absentmindedly while reading through Merlin's spellbook. "You really should've kept this thing locked up better if you were hoping to keep it a secret."

Merlin began to pull at his chains, causing Michael to shoot him a look. "Knock it off, I paid good money for those! Well, actually, I stole them, but same thing, right?" he laughed as he closed the book and walked back over to Merlin, getting right in his face and making Merlin want to spit on him. "Any magic you use will be sent back at you twice as hard," Michael informed him. "I wouldn't risk it, but do as you please. It's not like it matters to me if you die. In fact, it'd be better on my part."

"So kill me." Merlin challenged, but his voice was so weak and tired that it sounded more like a plea.

Michael laughed at him. "You'd like that, wouldn't you? But, no, I'm not going to kill you. Not yet, anyway."

"So, what are you going to do to me, then?" Merlin asked, trying to keep the fear out of his voice.

"I guess you'll see." Michael smirked.

Michael raised his hand above Merlin, who shrank back as the boy began saying the words that caused the world to go black again.

* * *

"We have to go looking for him."

Sara looked up at Amber in shock. The queen of Camelot hadn't spoken a word since her verbal attack on the knights, so it was a surprise to Sara to have her talking again. It'd been a day and a half of her sulking around in her room, denying any help from Julie, or anyone for that matter. "We can't." Sara sighed, stabbing her fork into the chicken on her plate.

"We can't just leave him out there to die." Amber insisted.

"We don't know, he could escape." Sara muttered quietly, shoving her food into her mouth.

"We have to go!" Amber insisted, slamming her hands down on the table.

"We _can't_!" Sara said in the same tone.

"I'm not just going to let Michael have him without doing anything about it!" Amber demanded. "And if you don't want to come with me, I'll go alone!"

She stood up and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. As she walked down the hall she crossed paths with Brodie.

"You're on a mission, I see." He raised an eyebrow as she stormed past him.

"Not the time, Thralls." she snapped, not stopping on her way.

Brodie turned and ran after her, lengthening his step to keep up with Amber as she all but ran down the hallway. "Where ya going?" He asked.

"To find Merlin." She answered, turning a corner sharply and nearly running Brodie into a wall.

He ran up to her again. "You really think they're gonna let you go?"

"They're not going to know." Amber muttered, running down the steps, into the courtyard and toward the stables.

"They will if I tell them." Brodie challenged.

"You do and I'll have you beheaded." she threatened without even looking at him. "I can do that here, you know."

"And I'm sure you would." Brodie rolled his eyes. "Just... Stay here, alright? I'll go out with Lance and Morgana, we'll find him and bring him back." Amber ignored him and threw the door to her horse's stall open. Brodie groaned, following her in. "You can't go. You have duties here. We'll find him, okay?"

Amber turned to face him, nearly smacking him with the saddle she was holding. "I'm going. End of story."

Brodie raised his eyebrow. "That sounds like a challenge."

* * *

"Let me out! You can't just lock me in the dungeons!"

* * *

**hehhhehhehe that last part ily brodie **

**(((btw if u didn't understand it brodie locked amber in the dungeons to go out and look for merlin)))**

**welllllllll what's gonna happen when they find him (if they find him)?**

**also michael has a real county twang accent, he grew up in the Texas area for a little while in his past before moving to la, so he's a bit rough and tough yknow, he's also got two older brothers and one younger brother back home so he knows how to be aggressive to get his way, that's why he's so good at torturing and beating up poor lil old Merlin**

**but yeah he grew up on a farm so u can imagine him being strong and tough**

**Also i haven't been getting many reviews so I can't really tell if u guys like my story or not? I'm going with no because nobody is telling me otherwise and idk if people are even reading this? idk i really need feedback on this or else I'll never know if I need to improve on something y'know plus they make me happy and like this story has over 9k reads and only 19 reviews so idk I'm taking that as people aren't enjoying it but whatever I'm enjoying writing it even if it is 50% false facts and 50% improbable situations but may I direct you to the word _fiction_**

**that's about it I guess later**

**-notreallymagical **


	22. Chapter 22

Amber looked up when she heard the sound of the bars to her prison cell rattling.

She saw Brodie shoving a key into the lock and jumped to her feet. "Did you find him?" She demanded as he struggled with the gate. He didn't look up or answer her question.

As soon as the gate was open, Amber's fist was colliding with Brodie's face.

"Ow!" he yelled, nearly punching her back.

"That's for locking me in here for two nights." She spat.

"You didn't have to punch me in the face." He muttered, running his hand along his cheek.

"Well, did you find him or not?!" Amber demanded again.

Brodie looked up at her and bit his lip nervously. "Um... About that."

"You did find him, right?" Amber snarled.

"We looked everywhere." Brodie sighed. "If he's still alive, he's not in this kingdom."

Amber pulled her hand back to slam it into Brodie's face again, but he was faster and grabbed her wrist, twisting her arm behind her back.

"You should really pay more attention in training. You can't win a fight by throwing punches, you know." he said into her ear before releasing her arm.

"I can have you beheaded for that." She muttered, rubbing her now sore wrist.

"Is that the only threat you can come up with?" Brodie rolled his eyes.

"It's not like I payed attention during the one month that we had of history class! I was too busy, you know, focusing on this?!" She yelled, gesturing around the room. "It's not too easy to stay focused when some guy is telling you that you're a legendary king every other day. And now that guy is missing and we have to find him."

"We can't. Merlin's not dumb, and if he's not dead yet he'll find a way out." Brodie reassured her.

"You don't know that." Amber muttered.

"I do know that. And you know what else I know?" Amber crossed her arms and stared at the floor while scuffling her feet. Brodie took that as a signal to continue. "I know that Michael knows that Merlin is more valuable to you alive than dead."

Amber looked up at him quickly. "What?"

"Do you really think that Michael would be stupid enough to kill off the one thing he has on you? That's like finding a drunk picture of someone as deleting it as blackmail."

Amber bit her bottom lip as she mulled this over. Maybe Brodie was right. Maybe Merlin was still alive.

"I'm still going out looking for him-"

"Just listen to me!" Brodie snapped, taking Amber aback. "My god, how the hell are you still alive?! Oh, that's right, because you're damn knights will jump in front of a bullet for you! Because you're the fucking queen! They have no god damn choice in the matter!"

"How dare you speak to your queen that way-"

"Queen my fucking ass!" Brodie yelled, rolling his eyes. "You're not a queen, you're a high school student! A fucking ignorant popular bitch who likes to make other people feel useless! Like shit!"

"That is not true!" Amber snarled, using her height to make a point of looking down on him.

"Yes, it is! You fucking put me down every single day since the day I met you! I've never been anything but nice to you and you fucking treat me like shit!"

"You will not speak to me like that again if you value your life." Amber narrowed her eyes at Brodie threateningly.

"I'll do whatever the fuck I want! Everyone else might bow to you, but I won't."

"Guards!" Amber's voice rang out through the halls. When the guards reached them she glared at Brodie and muttered, "Throw him in the dungeons."

"You wouldn't lock me up." Brodie taunted.

Amber crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow as two guards pinned Brodie's arms behind his back. "That sounds like a challenge."

* * *

"Where's Brodie?"

Amber shrugged as she shoved a piece of food into her mouth.

"What did you do to him?"

Amber glared at Sara. "Why do you always assume that I did something? He's probably just out on a hunt or something."

Sara narrowed her eyes at her friend. "Amber, I'm not stupid. Where is he?"

"In the dungeons."

"Amber!" Sara gasped. "Why? What did he do?"

"He called me a bitch. And a few other things." Amber muttered. Sara opened her mouth to speak while Amber continued, "I told him I would lock him up if he didn't shut up."

"He's our friend, you can't throw him in the dungeons just because he said some mean things to you!"

"I can do whatever the hell

I want!" Amber retorted. "I think you're forgetting who the queen is!"

"I haven't forgotten anything, how could I with you constantly holding it over everyone's head?" Amber looked a bit taken aback by this. "I didn't mean-" Sara started, but Amber stood up and shook her head. She stared at the floor as she walked out of the large meeting room, the doors leaving an echoing sound behind her as they closed that rang through Sara's ears.

Amber picked up a run as soon as the doors were shut. She rushed to her room, not showing a bit of emotion until she was safe in her chambers.

She didn't even notice Juliette standing by the bed until the servant spoke up.

"Are you alright, my lady?" Julie asked, taking a few tentative steps toward the queen.

Amber sniffed, wiping her eyes and nodding. "M'fine."

"Are you sure?" Julie slowly raised her hand and placed it on her queen's shoulder.

"Positive." Amber said, straightening out and forcing a smile on her face.

Juliette nodded but didn't look the slightest bit convinced.

"Julie... Can I ask you something?" Amber asked after a moment of awkward silence.

"Of course, anything." Julie blinked in confusion.

"Do you think I'm a good queen? And don't lie and tell me I'm amazing because you're afraid that I'll throw you in the dungeons. I want a real answer. I want your opinion."

Amber's question seemed to take Juliette off guard, but the servant answered anyway. "I think you're a wonderful queen. And that isn't a lie. Although you can be a bit hot-headed sometimes, you usually do what's right and think of the good of the entire kingdom instead of just the people who live in the castle."

Amber nodded, looking thoughtful. "Thank you, Juliette."

Amber's servant nodded. "I'll prepare a bath for you." She said quickly, ducking out of the room and leaving Amber alone.

The blonde haired girl turned on her heels and followed her servant out of the room, but walked the opposite way down the hall.

She made it to the stairs and walked straight past the guards, who didn't look twice at her. As she hurried down the hall she grabbed a set of keys that were hanging on the wall.

She shoved the key into the lock and the gate flew open.

"You're free to go." she said, not looking him in the eye.

"You're done teaching me a lesson?" He remarked.

"Just get out before I change my mind."

And with that, she turned and stormed away.

"Now you just wait a minute, LeFraire!" Brodie called after her, and she heard the sound of him chasing after her. She didn't break her pace, and he eventually caught up with her.

"Why the sudden change of heart?" He asked, lengthening his step to keep up with the taller girl. Amber only shrugged. Brodie rolled his eyes at her stubbornness. "I know you wouldn't just let me out. Something must have happened. Did we find out something about Merlin?"

The name sent a pang through Amber's chest as she shook her head.

"Mordred?" Brodie pushed. Again, Amber shook her head. "Then what?"

"I just decided to be the bigger person, okay?!" She snapped.

"Well, glad to see you're finally realizing what it takes to-"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." Amber rolled her eyes at him. "Just... Go do something, okay? Go on a patrol or whatever you knights do. Just don't pester me, I've got shit to do."

Brodie stifled a laugh as Amber walked away from him. She sure was quite the character.

Amber entered her chambers to be met by a quite nervous looking Juliette.

"I came back and you weren't here..." she said, shaking her head. "Never mind, your bath is ready."

Amber thanked and dismissed her- she thought it was awkward to be naked in front of someone else- before stripping off her clothes and submerging herself into the hot water.

After she'd bathed and dried down, she put on her night clothes and walked to the window.

"Where are you, Merlin?" she whispered to the night sky. "I can't do this without you..."

.

**so this chapter is so so so bad I'm so sorry I'm having the worst writers block ever and really I'm just slapping down the first things that come to my mind and i really shouldnt be but it's either quick updates with shitty chapters or long updates with decent chapters**

**brooooodieeeeee i love him so very much u don't even understand like its unbelievable I think I like him more than Merlin**

**also we're going to be seeing a lot less of all the characters (except Merlin, amber and Brodie, they're the only real people who are going to be in the next few chapters sorry) but its only because of what's going to happen next, they'll get bigger parts sooner or later, like when the big battle comes, they'll all be back but until then I'm only really focusing on the three of them**

**also, just a huge forewarning for the battle, more than HALF (including the council) of the characters are going to die**

**that's right less than half of the people in this fic are going to live till the end and some of the deaths my surprise u**

**anyway don't punch me in the face for lack of characters and shitty chapters I'm sorry im barely scraping by mdmxkdkskso**

**-notreallymagical **


	23. Chapter 23

"Get up, you lazy piece of shit."

Merlin groaned, groggily blinking his eyes open.

"Morning, sunshine." Michael sneered, looking down on Merlin who was still sitting in the same kneeling position he'd been in for the past week and a half.

"Is it?" Merlin countered. He could barely get the words out; everything in his body burned. He was sure that his knees would give out under him if he were standing. His eyelids dropped and his lip was swollen from where Michael had slammed the toe of his boot into just the day before.

Merlin's face and body were covered in bruises, he felt as if he were completely black and purple. Time for another day of torture, another day of starvation, another day of pain.

"I thought so." Michael shrugged. "The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and Camelot is falling under the rule of queen Amber." He said Amber's name mockingly, as if she was a joke; which she probably was, to him.

"Camelot is not falling, I can guarantee that." Merlin muttered, letting his chin rest on his torso. He couldn't find the energy to hold it up anymore. He could barely find the energy to hold what Michael would call a conversation- Merlin would rather call it torment.

"I think you're mistaken." Michael laughed bitterly. "One by one the villages are falling, and we're getting closer and closer to the castle... Oh, what a wonderful world." Merlin noted that Michael was unusually happy that day- he typically taunted Merlin in a cheery way, but he was just too happy.

"Looks like you actually woke up on the right side of the bed this morning." Merlin lifted his head up just long enough for Michael to see the sneer on his face. "Maybe I'll actually get a decent amount of food, then."

"Keep dreamin'." Michael rolled his eyes, though Merlin couldn't see it with his head hanging. "But I'm glad you noticed! I am actually in a good mood today. A great one, really. Would you like to know why?"

"Would you like to get a punch in the-"

"I've decided that you can meet one of my friends today!" Michael beamed sarcastically, cutting off Merlin's threat.

"You have friends?" Merlin taunted. "And here I thought you bit the heads off anyone who came too close to you."

For a moment Merlin was nervous that Michael would slam his knee into his face, but the black-haired boy only rolled his eyes. "And here I thought you'd be excited to see a fresh face after being locked up for so very long."

Merlin suppressed a groan. "It's almost like you're introducing your girlfriend to your parents." Michael scoffed at this, and Merlin smirked up at him.

"Anyway, me and my crew, we call him Watcher. Best guard we got. But I'm sure you know him by a different name. Come on in!" Michael called over his shoulder, and Merlin looked up as the door rattled as it opened.

The face staring down at him sent a wave of anguish through Merlin. He barely found the strength to move his lips to form the name.

"Tegan."

* * *

"What's the update?"

Leon sighed as he stood in front of Amber. "Mordred-"

"Michael." Amber corrected lazily, not looking up at the knight.

"Michael," Leon repeated with a nod. "His armies have gotten closer to the castle."

"And Merlin?"

"There has been no sign of him." Amber sighed at this, and Leon continued, "We think it would be best to accept that he-"

"No!" Amber yelled, her head snapping up at glare at Leon. "We will not accept anything until his dead body has been laid down in front of us!"

"My lady-"

"No." Amber repeated. "He is alive, and we are going to find him."

"You have to be rational!" Leon raised his voice in frustration. "None of us want to believe that Merlin is dead, but it is the harsh truth and we must move on without him!"

"We will do nothing of the sort!" Amber yelled, slamming her hands down on the table.

"It's been weeks!"

"Until it is confirmed that he is dead we will assume that he is alive!"

"Amber-"

"_MY DECISION IS FINAL_!" Amber screamed, standing up from her chair and sending it flying out behind her in the process. "We are not going to abandon him! Do what you will but he will not be pronounced dead until it has been proven!"

Leon bowed his head before turning and walking away from Amber.

As soon as the door had closed, Amber let out a choked sob and sank to the floor, covering her face with her hands.

* * *

"Why are you doing this?!"

"Shut up!"

Merlin sucked in a breath of air as the whip sliced his bare back again.

"It doesn't have to be this way- Argh!" Merlin let out a cry of pain as Michael cracked the whip down.

"Tegan, help me!" He choked out to his old friend.

"Come on, man, that's enough." Merlin heard Tegan's voice say to Michael softly.

"Do you want one too?" Michael threatened, whipping Merlin another time.

"No, but he's had enough. You're gonna kill him." Tegan warned Michael.

"Maybe I should." Michael let out a bitter laugh and smacked Merlin in the back again. The pain it sent nearly knocked him unconscious and he could feel the blood gushing out of the wound. He wouldn't doubt that his back was completely torn apart- to the point of no return- be he held it together. He wouldn't cry. He couldn't cry.

"Seriously man, give him a break." Tegan said, and Merlin could tell he had reached for the whip in Michael's hand. A second later, out of the corner of his eye, Merlin saw Tegan's body hit the floor, his cheek swollen. Michael had punched him unconscious.

As he turned his head to cast a glance at Michael, the whip came down again, this time striking Merlin directly in the cheek.

Merlin let out a wail of pain as Michael hit him in the face again, this time on his forehead. His vision was clouded with red as the blood trickled out of his wound and into his eyes.

The last thing he remembered before slipping into oblivion was multiple more whips on his exposed back.

* * *

Brodie had no business with Amber; in fact, he was mad at her. Forget mad, he was pissed.

Maybe that's why it shocked him so much when he decided to enter her chambers after he heard the quiet sobs coming from inside.

"Amber?" He called quietly, peeking around the room. He followed the source of the sound toward the desk by the window to see the queen of Camelot bawling her eyes out on the floor. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Amber lied, waving him off.

Brodie maneuvered his sword to allow him to sit comfortably next to Amber. "Is this about Merlin?"

"They want to pronounce him dead." Amber sniffed, wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

"I know." Brodie sighed.

"I can't just... I can't sit back and believe that he's gone." Amber whispered, looking up at the sky through the window. "I refuse to believe it. He's out there somewhere, we just have to look harder."

"Do you think he's in Camelot?" Brodie asked quietly.

"I'm certain of it."

"How do you know?" Brodie raised an eyebrow at Amber quizzically.

"I just know. He's here, I don't know exactly where, but he's definitely here."

"If you don't mind my asking, why do you care so much? I mean, we're all sad about it, but it seems like you took the hardest blow from this. And you've known him for less time than the rest of us." Brodie said pointendly, finally asking the question that had been burning his mind for the past few days.

"He's my friend. He helped me through all of this, he's the reason I really became queen. None of this would have happened without him. I miss him... A lot. More than I probably should, more than royalty should miss a servant. But I do. I don't know why I'm telling you this, sorry." Amber apologized, wiping her running nose with her sleeve.

Brodie's chainmail rattled as he shifted his sitting position. "I get it. Don't worry, if there is even the slightest hope that he is still out there, I'm not giving up on him. We're in this together, you know. You're not alone."

Amber smiled at him, tears clouding her vision. "Thanks, Thralls."

Brodie opened his mouth to say something else, but looked around the desk as Amber's chamber doors were thrown open. A slightly rugged-looking Morgana stood in the doorway.

"We've found Merlin."

* * *

**damn africa**

**Mean girls reference hah funny**

**anyway im too lazy to write a bunch of stuff about this chapter basically merlin was tortured Tegan is working with michael brodie can't hold a grudge against amber and Merlin's back in camelot yeah that's the gist of it this chapter sucks this story sucks i hate myself for posting this bye**

**-notreallymagical**


	24. Chapter 24

Amber skidded to a stop outside Gaius' chambers, seeing that there were guards in front of the door. Why were there guards in front of the door?

"Let me in." She demanded, reaching for the door when one of the guards held her back.

"I'm not sure you want to go in there right now, he might not be in very good shape-"

"Shut up, Brodie!" Amber snapped at the redhead, leaving him in a bit of shock because she never called him by his first name, ever. She rolled her eyes at him before turning her attention back to the guards. "I'm your queen, and you will do as I say."

The guards shared an unsure look before stepping aside and letting Amber through.

Morgana caught her wrist before she could open the door. "I have to warn you, Amber, Brodie is right. You might not like what you see in there." She warned.

She pulled her wrist away from her, rolling her eyes as she threw the door open.

Brodie and Morgana followed her in, Brodie standing a bit in front of Amber protectively.

The group gathered in the room consisted of the patrol who had apparently gone out to search for Merlin without telling anyone- Sara, Gwaine and Morgana- and Gaius. And, of course, Merlin.

Amber rushed toward his unconscious body, taking in every beaten aspect of it. His back looked like it had been sliced with a knife, his face was swollen on one side and he looked skinnier than before- if that was even possible.

"What happened to him?!" Amber screamed.

"He's been beaten. Tortured. Probably drugged." Gaius explained as he treated Merlin's wounds.

"Well, help him!" She demanded.

"We're trying!" Sara snapped at her friend as she helped Gaius treat Merlin.

"Try _harder_!"

"Amber, calm down." Brodie said calmly.

"He's going to die!" Amber yelled, whipping around to face him.

"Gaius is doing everything he can." Brodie assured her.

"It's not enough! He can't die! Save him, do _something_!" Amber continued the scream until Brodie had to pull her out of the room, telling the guards that she was to be locked up.

Normally the guards should have denied Brodie, but everyone in Camelot knew how the queen got sometimes and it was best just to lock her away until her little fits died down a bit, and they also knew that Brodie was closer to Amber than the rest of the knights were, and a lot of them suspected that he would one day be king. So the guards obliged to Brodie's request and had to haul Amber away from Gaius' chambers as she screamed bloody murder at them.

As Brodie walked back into the room, relief flooded through him as he saw the bleeding had gone down immensely with Gaius' help.

"Is he going to be alright?" Morgana asked the physician, Gwaine standing beside her.

Gaius sighed. "We'll have to wait and see." his eyes darkened as he continued, "But I don't want any of you getting your hopes up."

* * *

"You wanted to talk to me?"

Amber looked up as Morgana's voice sounds from the door.

"Yeah." the queen nodded. "Come on in."

Morgana did as she was told, approaching Amber's table. "What's this all about?"

"You have magic, right?" Amber asked, jumping straight into the gist of the conversation.

Morgana nodded slowly. "Yes... Why?"

"I want you to use your magic to heal Merlin."

Morgana blinked at the demand. "I don't know if I can do that."

"Why not? Isn't there healing magic?" Amber raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, but none that I know. And even if I did, Gaius believes that Michael has spell locked him."

"Spell locked?" Amber cocked her head to the side in confusion.

"Made it so that nobody can use magic on him." Morgana explained. "Mine would have no effect."

"Can't you try?" Amber asked, beginning to sound desperate.

Morgana sighed. "I guess. But I can nearly guarantee that it's not going to make a difference."

* * *

"What's the spell?"

Gaius flipped a few more pages around in one of Merlin's spell books. "I'm not sure... Wait, here it is." He handed the book to Morgana, who read it over a few times before making her way over to Merlin, who was asleep on Gaius' bed.

She whispered the spell. Nothing happened. She spoke the spell. Again, nothing happened. She set down the book, placed her hands on Merlin's forehead, and yelled the spell. Nothing happened.

"It's no use." she muttered, turning away from Merlin. "He's spell locked, for sure."

"Isn't there anything you can do to break it?" Amber demanded.

Gaius shook his head. "It's nearly impossible to break a spell lock. The only real way to break it is to kill the person who placed it."

"So... We have to kill Michael to save Merlin?" Amber whispered nervously.

"Not exactly." Gaius corrected. "It is possible that he could get better with our remedies, but there is no guarantee. We'll try, though, don't worry. I'll do everything in my power to fix him."

Amber nodded, unable to get any words out. What would she do if Merlin died? He was her closest ally in this, the only person who knew this place that she could fully trust. Without him, she was as close to alone as she could get.

Amber turned on her heels and walked toward the door. She stopped before throwing it open, calling over her shoulder, "I don't care what it takes. Don't let him die."

* * *

"Thralls, nice to see you. Take a seat."

Brodie wearily approached the table in the council chambers of the castle. Amber sat with her back straight and her hands folded neatly on the table. It surprised him that she wasn't going crazy and breaking things and crying all the time, with Merlin on his death bed and her ex-boyfriend trying to kill her and all. But maybe she was crazy, maybe she brought him here to slit his throat and use his blood to create a shrine of sacrifice to the gods of life in order to save Merlin- and he didn't doubt that she would do it. She was a psychopath, after all. She always was and she always would be. Then, maybe she really, truly believed that Merlin would live, which would also make her crazy. Mostly because the entire castle basically had a mutual agreement that the warlock was going to die on spell lock. They all knew it, but nobody dared say it. _Especially_ not in front of Amber.

Therefore, if the queen truly did believe that Merlin would live, she was crazy.

Brodie laughed at his own thoughts, causing Amber to raise an eyebrow at him. "Is something funny, Thralls?"

Brodie bit down on the inside of his lip to keep from smiling. "No, King LeFraire."

Amber narrowed her eyes at him. "That's _Pendragon_. As long as we're here, my name is Pendragon. Got that?"

Brodie nodded his head, not being able to take her seriously with images of her doing a tribal dance of sacrifice around a shrine of his death in the rain floating around in his mind. It really wasn't a picture a fourteen-going-on-fifteen year old should find amusing, and he felt a bit guilty that he did. But this was LeFraire, and she deserved a little mockery. He took her as a joke, anyway. And, besides, he needed a bit of humor in the darkness of their current situation. Might as well make it at her expense, right?

"Good." Amber said, turning her attention to the papers on her table and taking Brodie away from his morbid thoughts. "When this battle comes, I want you in it."

"Well, that was a bit obvious, I think-" Brodie began to remark, but Amber continued as if he hadn't spoken.

"I want you as one of the main knights." She said without even looking at him.

"Why do I feel like you're only putting me in so that I'll get killed?" Brodie asked, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"I'm trying to help you. You're going to be in the front line, so you'll need all the experience you can get. You don't want to die, do you, Thralls?" her voice had a taunting tone to it, but Brodie ignored it as he countered.

"No, sir."

"That's what I thought. Now learn to fight."

"I know how to fight." Brodie cocked an eyebrow at her.

"I mean learn to fight _well_." Brodie opened his mouth to retaliate at her comment, but she cut him off before he could. "I've already set up private training sessions for you with Gwaine and Percival. They'll teach you all you need to know and more. Got it?"

Brodie bit back a retort and clenched his jaw. "Yes, sir." he spat through his teeth.

"Then you are dismissed."

Brodie turned on his heels and began walking out of the room.

"Oh, and, Thralls?"

Brodie stopped but didn't turn. "Yes?"

"Don't call me sir."

Amber didn't have to see his face to know he was smirking as he replied, "As you wish, _sergeant_."

.

**BRODIE IS ME I AM BRODIE**

**IM LAUGHING SO HARD I DON'T LOVE ANY CHARACTER EVEN HALF AS MUCH AS I LOVE BRODIE OK HE IS MY FAVE OMFG**

**seriously his and ambers relationship is the bEST they call each other by their last names and jdjsjshsjdjsjsk i love them together hehehehehe**

**honestly it may as well be canon too bad it isnt and never will be but if u would like to think it is im not stopping u**

**-notreallymagical**


	25. Chapter 25

Amber sat in the chair, eyelids drooping. She fought the urge to sleep, and it was difficult. All she wanted to do was curl up and sleep. It would only be a minute or so...

No. Wake up, Amber, she scolded herself. You're supposed to be watching Merlin. How would you feel if he died while you were asleep? She shook her head, adjusting her position to one where she wouldn't be able to fall asleep. She put both arms on the edge of the bed where Merlin's sleeping form laid, staring at his face, wondering if she'd ever he's again hear his voice, see his eyes, hear his laugh. She couldn't bear the thought.

She let out a sigh, reaching a hand up, picking up a piece of the warlock's hair, and twisting it around between her forefinger and thumb. Her mind drifted back to her home, back to Los Angeles. She realized that it seemed like a distant fantasy to her now, being gone for, what, four months? Longer? Shorter? She didn't know. It'd been a while, that's for sure. More than a month, less that a year. Well, that sure narrows it down, she thought bitterly.

She thought of her father, the only real family she had. No sisters to share clothes with, no brothers to wrestle with, no mother to argue with. Just her and her father, who was never around. Amber raised herself. Maybe that's why she took to Merlin so much. Because he was in the same situation, only Amber had a father and Merlin had no one. He was alone. Amber was, too, in a different way. They were both isolated and they both understood the other.

She thought of Sara, who was god knows where doing god knows what at that time. She was glad that her friend was there for her, hadn't abandoned her when she'd been pulled into running a kingdom. She made a mental note to thank her for that.

She thought of Thralls, the one she never called by his first name, the one who never called her by her first name. She couldn't remember why she didn't like the boy, unless you'd count a vague memory of him putting glue in her hair in preschool. Maybe that was why she hated him. She had no idea. All she knew was that they didn't like each other and they never had. Still, she had to admit to herself that she was even a little glad that he was there, too. She didn't know why, but she was. Maybe it was that their banters reminded her of home. She missed home.

She thought of Michael, who was the reason this was all happening. She didn't still love him, no, that was long in the past. He is your enemy, now, Amber, her thoughts scolded. You cannot afford to think fondly of him. He tried to kill Merlin. You love Merlin. You do not love Michael.

You love Merlin.

You love Merlin.

You love Merlin.

She repeated the sentence over and over again in her mind. It was true, she loved Merlin. She knew the day they'd brought him back from Michael that she loved him. She loved Merlin, but she would never say so.

She could never say so.

Well, she could never say so as long as Amber was in charge of Camelot. The threat of war hung threateningly over her head, and she could not afford any distractions. Maybe after this was all over, she would tell him.

Maybe.

But not now. No, not with all this happening. Not now, with Merlin on death's door and Camelot on the verge of destruction.

She didn't know when, she didn't know why, she didn't know how, but Michael was going to destroy them. All of them. He wouldn't show any mercy, because there was no goodness in his heart. There used to be. That changed a long time ago.

Amber pushed all thoughts of Michael out of her way and turned her attention back to Merlin. The unsteady rise and fall of his chest made her uneasy; she didn't trust him not to stop breathing altogether. Even the slightest hitch in his breathing sent her heart into her feet.

You can't die, Merlin, she said silently. "You can't die, Merlin," She said, not silently.

She dropped his hair, brushing her thumb along the scar on his cheek. It was gruesome-looking, making the contents of her stomach threaten to make a reappearance. Instead of puking, Amber closed her eyes, placing her forehead against Merlin's and letting out a long, unsteady breath. She sat that way for a while longer before straightening up and staring down at the warlock again. "Get better. Please." She whispered in a voice so quiet it barely came out. "I miss you."

* * *

Gaius walked briskly down the hall to his chambers. He knew there wasn't much time left for Merlin, so every second was important if the boy was to live. Having him on spell lock had been a massive hindrance. He could have brought the warlock to Kilgharrah and had the dragon fix him, but no magic would work on the boy. He was condemned to herbs and potions.

As Gaius opened the door, he caught sight of Amber slumped over the edge of Gaius' bed that Merlin had been staying on. She was fast asleep, it seemed, her face buried in his shoulder. Gaius chuckled slightly at the sight, shaking his head at the girl. She slept more than anyone he knew. As he began tidying up a desk, he heard stirring from behind him and assumed it to be Amber waking up. But he soon realized it _wasn't_ the queen as a deep, disgruntled sound came from the other side of the room.

Gaius turned to see Merlin stirring slightly, his eyes cracked open a bit.

"You're awake?" Gaius asked, keeping his voice low because Amber was still asleep.

"Mmm." Merlin murmured, letting his eyelids droop closed again. Gaius could tell he was still awake, though, by the slow circular movement of his fingers on the sheets.

"How are you feeling?" The physician asked, walking over to Merlin.

"Hmm." Merlin readjusted the position of his legs and Gaius took the sound to be positive.

"Can I get you anything? Are you hungry?"

The warlock shook his head ever so slightly; Gaius wouldn't have seen it if he wasn't looking for it. Merlin's eyes drifted open again and he seemed to notice the sleeping girl next to him for the first time. "W... What...?"

Gaius shrugged. "I think she was on watch. She must have fallen asleep."

Merlin nodded, keeping his eyes open and staring at her. "M'tired." he slurred.

"You don't have to get up right now." Gaius told him, turning back to his desk. "It's good to see you awake again."

"Mmm." Merlin murmured. "H'w long?"

"You've been out for almost two weeks. We all thought... We thought we lost you."

"You won't get rid of me that easily." Merlin said, quietly, but Gaius could tell what he was saying. At least the boy could speak properly now.

"It would seem so." The physician joked.

As he turned around, he caught sight of Merlin playing around with a piece of Amber's hair in his fingers.

"She's hardly left your side, you know." Gaius informed him. The look on Merlin's face was unfamiliar, but Gaius had seen it once before. When the druid girl, Freya, was in Camelot. When Merlin was keeping her hidden and safe.

A small, weak smile spread across Merlin's lips. "Well, tell her I say thank you."

The warlock's eyes fluttered closed again, the smile still on his face. It began to fade slowly, though, and Merlin's breathing soon became ragged and unsteady. Gaius felt a bit panicky at first, but after inspecting the boy quickly, he realized he was just sleeping again. Soon after Merlin fell asleep, Amber woke up.

"Wha... Oh, man, did I fall asleep?!"

"Yes, but your shift ended a while ago. I've been here the whole time. Didn't want to wake you." Gaius lied. It was for her sake, after all.

Amber shook her head and rose to her feet. "You should have woken me. How is he?"

"He was awake for a minute or so just a while ago." Gaius informed her.

He didn't quite recognize the emotion that crossed Amber's face. "That's good. Well, come and get me if he wakes up again."

And with that, she turned and walked quickly out of the room.

* * *

"Are you alright?"

Amber looked up at the person sitting across from her, a bit shocked at the question. She didn't think it was that obvious. So she forced a smile and nodded. "I'm fine, thank you."

Lancelot tilted his head to the side. "You don't look alright. You should be happy, Merlin is getting better! Against all odds, as well! There is something bothering you."

Amber sighed and shook her head. "I don't know why I'm not happy, to be completely honest with you."

Lancelot narrowed his eyes as he studied her face. "You're nothing like Arthur, you know that? You're much more... Open."

Amber blinked in confusion. "But I _am_ Arthur."

"In spirit. But you really aren't like him at all. So, what's on your mind?"

"I don't know what I'm going to say to him when the time comes that I have to speak to him again." She sighed, tracing the grain of the wood with her index finger.

"Tell him how you feel about him."

The words shocked Amber and her head shot up, making Lancelot laugh a bit. "I know you have feelings for him. Even a blind man could see it. But, Merlin never was very attentive in the past..." He let his sentence drop along with his eyes to the table.

"I can't."

"And why not?"

Amber sighed again, looking Lancelot straight in the eyes. "We can't afford any distractions."

"Now, I don't think love is a distraction, m'lady. If you would like my opinion, I believe that it would only make the both of you stronger." As Amber mulled over what Lancelot said, the knight pulled himself to his feet and smiled down at her. "I'm afraid I'm late for training. As are you, but I can make up an excuse if you don't want to go."

When Amber didn't answer, Lancelot turned and walked out of the council chambers, leaving the queen alone with her thoughts.

* * *

**well this chapter is rly rly bad im sorry**

**but i was too lazy to do anything else to it so ya here it is**

**well it is now revealed that yes after much debate over the topic (there wasnt any debate over the topic but who cares shut up) that yes amber does love merlin wow shocker didnt see that one coming**

**u know what surprises me is that i havent gotten any hate comments about this fic which makes me kinda happy bc it means u guys are enjoying it which is good but i dont think anyone could hate my work more than i hate my work**

**but ya merlin is dying and amber loves him and it is implied but not directly said that she still has feelings for michael which in my mind is completely ridiculous like um yeah hi hes trying to kiLL YOU**

**do u see why i hate my writing its reasons like this**

**but i needed that in there for future (and when i say future i mean really really far in the future dont expect any friendly interactions between amber and micheal for a very very very very very very very very very very very very very very long time) reasons but until then ill stick with implying things**

**but anywAY OK SO I WAS SEARCHING AROUND ON YOUTUBE BC I WAS BORED AND I CAME ACROSS THIS watch?v=6988FEHC3wY AND IDK IF ITS BECAUSE MERGANA IS MY FUCKING OTP BUT IM LAYING ON THE GROUND IN A BALL BECAUSE ITS THE CUTEST THING I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY ENTIRE LIFE OH MY GOD I WANT TO PRINT IT OUT AND HANG IT ON MY CEILING SO THAT I CAN WATCH IT BEFORE I GO TO BED IM CYRINJKTRNJKELLHVJRGL WOW BYE**

**-notreallymagical**


	26. Chapter 26

As Amber strolled down the halls while avoiding her daily duties, her ears picked up the sound of a conversation going on inside Morgana's chambers. She pressed her ear up to the door, curiosity getting the best of her.

"We can't afford to feel guilty, Gwen. What's done is done."

"But it's tearing her apart! And not just her, Brodie too. Sara hasn't talked much over the past little while, and I'm sure this is getting to her, as well."

"This was going to happen sooner or later, and you knew that. You knew where this would bring us, and you didn't do anything to stop it. You cannot tell her."

"I can't sit back knowing that I knew what was going to happen and I didn't warn her. That I didn't warn any of them."

"You couldn't have known that Mordred was going to bring Brodie and Sara with her. That wasn't predicted."

"But, still. The guilt is killing me, Morgana."

"It's not your fault-"

Morgana slammed her jaws shut as the door flew open and Amber stormed in.

"Hello, Amber." The black-haired girl greeted.

"You knew?!" Amber demanded.

Morgana and Gwen exchanged a guilty look. "I'm sorry we didn't tell you-"

"You knew that this was going to happen and you didn't warn me?! And what about Merlin, did he know?" Morgana shook her head and Amber continued, "And now he's lying on his deathbed! Did you know_ that_ was going to happen?!"

"I knew it wouldn't be easy-"

"You don't care who suffers as long as Camelot lives, right?!" Amber screamed. Gwen and Morgana both looked down at their feet.

"Awesome." Amber spat, turning on her heels and storming away.

Neither Morgana or Gwen followed her.

She decided quickly that she would join the knights' training. She needed to take out her anger on something, and it was most likely that they'd all known, too.

She made it out to them about halfway through their practice, and the knights all looked pleased to see her. She didn't even bother to pretend to look happy, she just grabbed a sword and demanded someone fight her.

Leon was first up, and the battle only lasted around a minute before she had the knight on the ground, sword angled just above his heart.

Elyan, Gwaine, Lancelot, knight after knight, Amber knocked them all to the ground. She felt a bit better afterward, but still unforgiving. Brodie tracked her down after watching the whole charade unfold. "What was that all about?" He asked when he'd found her.

"Revenge." Was her answer.

Brodie raised an eyebrow at her. "Revenge?"

"Revenge, Thralls. Payback."

"I know what revenge is, LeFr- Pendragon, what I don't know is why you would need revenge on the knights."

"The same reason you do, kid."

"I don't want revenge on the knights." Brodie said, raising his eyebrows at the girl who he was now certain was crazy.

"You will." She answered, not meeting his eyes.

"And why's that?"

"Because they knew. All of them knew that we were coming here except for Merlin, and none of them bothered to tell us!" Amber screamed suddenly. Brodie jumped a bit by her sudden change in tone, but Amber either didn't notice or didn't care. "They knew this was all going to happen. It's their fault that Merlin is on his deathbed. It's their fault that we're going to lose Camelot to Michael."

Brodie mulled this over for a moment. "They couldn't have known what was going to happen to him, you know. It's not like they predicted that he was going to get abducted."

"But they knew we were coming! That's not the only thing I'm mad about, Brodie!" She didn't even regard that she'd used the boy's first name, she was so mad. How could he not be angry about this?! They knew! Amber decided then that Brodie was not human. He was some different being that didn't experience any human emotions. That, or he just didn't have emotions. He was a robot. Far from being a human.

"I'm assuming that they did it for your own good." Brodie raised an eyebrow at the reeling queen.

"How can you be okay with this?!" She demanded, slamming her foot down as she spoke. She glared at him with such anger that if looks could kill he would drop dead right then and there.

"Because I know how to handle myself in situations like this, whereas you just throw a fit and storm off!"

"So you don't think I have a right to be mad, then?!" She screamed.

"I never said that!" Brodie groaned, putting his hands over his face in frustration. God, she was stubborn. She was like a whole new breed of stubborn! "I said you need to calm down a bit and look at this from their perspective!"

"It's no wonder people walk all over you." Amber spat, eyes narrowed, before turning and storming away from the redhead.

Brodie groaned again, lashing out an slamming his foot into the nearest wall.

* * *

Amber slammed the door of her chambers closed with a thud so loud she wouldn't doubt people could hear it from five floors down. She was glad to be alone. She needed time to herself so that she could... Do what, exactly? Scream? Cry? Punch a hole in a wall? She was afraid that she might do a combination all three, but instead she turned around and opened the door to her room again, setting out for one specific destination.

She wasn't quite sure what to expect when she got there, but it was the only place she could think to go. And as soon as she opened the door, she was shocked to come face to face with an awake, sitting up, Merlin. The shock was shortcoming, though, and she didn't restrain herself as she ran toward him and threw her arms around his overly-skinny body. She buried her head in his shoulder, clinging onto him as though he'd disappear if she let go. Merlin laughed, hugging her back, but with less force. "Nice to see you, too."

"Where the hell have you been?!" Amber demanded, but her tone wasn't angry, it was happy. She stepped back and replacing hugging him with gripping one of his hands tightly with one of hers, and running her other thumb along the scar on his cheekbone, then doing the same with the adjacent one on his forehead. "You had me scared half to death! I thought i'd never see you again! Don't you ever do that to me again, do you hear me?!" She didn't wait for an answer as she hugged him again quickly, then stepped back. "What did he do to you?"

"Nothing that can't be fixed." Merlin said with a crooked smile that Amber could clearly tell was faked. She narrowed her eyes at him and he squirmed under her gaze. "I'm fine, really." He assured her, rubbing his cheek scar with his own hand and praying that she wouldn't pry further. He didn't need her worried about him when she had a kingdom to rule and a battle to focus on.

"Are you sure? You've been gone for weeks and-"

"Amber." Merlin smiled, gripping her hand tighter. "I'm fine."

"Really?"

"Really really. I'm just glad to be back."

Amber hugged him again, her hands landing on his back this time, making him wince. He let out a yelp of pain and jerked backward so quickly that Amber was left slightly dazed. "Sorry." He breathed, squeezing his eyes shut as if blocking out the world would somehow dull the pain.

"What was that?" she asked, taking a step around him toward his back. Merlin's eyes flew open as quickly as they'd closed in panic.

He turned his body, making sure to keep his shoulders square with hers. "What was what?"

"Why did you flinch?" She took another step around him, and he reflected her movements again.

"I didn't flinch." He shrugged, trying his best to not let her see his lie. Obviously she saw straight through it, like she saw straight through everything else. Amber suddenly lunged forward, grabbed him by the shoulders and spun him around. She threw the back of his shirt up and gasped at the sight of the bloodied bandage wrapped around his torso, a feeling of horror in her stomach. She let the shirt fall and stumbled backward, her hand flying over her mouth.

"Did Michael do that?" She breathed when she'd steadied herself.

Merlin nodded slowly. "It's okay, though. It only hurts when I aggravate it."

"He's going to pay for this." Amber muttered, beginning to pace across the floor. The joy of seeing Merlin awake again was so quickly overcome by the anger of the situation it was shocking. "If anyone catches him, I want him restrained and brought to me. You got that?" Merlin's eyes grew wide at the rage in her tone. He was a bit afraid of her in that moment, shuffling backwards on the bed to put more space between the two of them. Amber was not a person you would want to be close to when they're mad, he'd learned from experience. "I'm sorry we didn't find you sooner." She said to Merlin when she'd simmered down a bit, her tone taking a softer edge. "We searched every last inch of this kingdom, I don't know how we missed you."

Merlin forced another smile and turned his head away from Amber. "S'alright. No harm done." Amber raised an eyebrow at the statement, gesturing to the scars across Merlin's face. The servant rolled his eyes slightly, slowly getting to his feet and nearly falling over in the process as his knees caved under the weight. He grabbed the table to steady himself as he sucked in a breath of air.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Amber asked, also getting to her feet and reaching a hand out to help steady Merlin.

"Fine, fine," he assured quickly, brushing her hand off and standing up straight while trying his best to ignore the pain in his back it caused.

"Should I go get Gaius?" Amber asked, concern in her voice.

Merlin shook his head. "I'm fine, really." Amber raised a disbelieving eyebrow at him and he rolled his eyes again. The action had become a real habit for him, it was easier than making a retort that could very well hurt Amber's not-so Arthur-like ego. She was much more subject to criticism than the old king, and Merlin knew it was better for both of them to avoid it- most of the time. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're worried about me."

"Of course I'm worried about you, you idiot." Amber said with a sincere smile. "Why shouldn't I be worried about you? You're the only reason I haven't gotten this city burned to the ground yet." Merlin laughed at this, turning away from her and walking up the stairs toward his room. Amber followed him up, babbling the whole time. "Really, without you, the only person who's actually been of decent use to me is Thralls. Shocking, I know. The kid actually has a brain in that hollow head of his."

"Brodie's not brainless." Merlin said as he dug around through his drawers.

"I know. But he_ is_ a robot."

Merlin cast a glance over his shoulder at her and raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"Oh, I've decided that Thralls is a robot because he doesn't feel human emotions." Amber replied absentmindedly, curiously looking at all the things in Merlin's room as he pulled his jacket out of a drawer.

"And what made you come to that conclusion?" Merlin laughed as he shrugged the jacket on, biting down a yelp at the pain the movement caused his back. The wounds still hadn't properly healed and moving around was only aggravating them more. He should really sit- Gaius had ordered him to stay bedridden and would be furious if he found out that Merlin was doing exactly the opposite at that moment- but he didn't want to be more of a distraction to Amber than he already had been. She had a kingdom to run and a battle to prepare for.

"Because he didn't get mad when I told him that Morgana and all the others knew that we were going to get sent back here." Amber answered casually as she flipped through the pages of one of Merlin's spellbooks, her face comically changing expressions as she turned the pages.

"Wait, what?"

"Oh, yeah, Morgana knew the whole time. Didn't bother to tell anyone, though. At least Gwen felt a bit bad about it. Morgana, not so much." Amber shrugged and her eyes widened as she noticed something seemingly interesting on one of the pages. "Hey, this is cool, can you do this?"

Merlin sighed, taking the book away from her putting it back on the shelf. "So Morgana knew? And she didn't tell me?"

"Don't feel bad, she didn't tell me either." Amber gave him a whatcha-gonna-do look as she spoke. "Though it probably would have been nice to have been warned in advance. I'd have brought my cell with me. Scaring people with modern technology would have been a blast- Merlin, are you alright?"

But Merlin wasn't listening. He was staring out the window with a shocked, scared expression on his face. "What is it?" Amber asked, taking a step closer to him.

He put his arm out to hold her back. "Go get the knights. Tell them Michael's army is here, and hurry."

* * *

**duuuuuuuuuuuuun duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun**

**and so the battle beings**

**bit of a forewarning its gonna be a lot of just sitting around and a hell of a lot of talking and not much is going to happen in a long span of time but a lot is gonna be covered so idk hate me if u want im sorry**

**-notreallymagical**


	27. Chapter 27

_"Leon! Percy, Gwaine, Lance, Elyan!"_

The knights looked up from their seemingly intriguing game of cards as a frantic Amber ran over to them, gasping for breath as she called their names.

"What is it, Amber?" Percival asked, getting to his feet and putting a hand in each of her shoulders.

"It's... Michael..." she said in between breaths. "He's here... He's... In Camelot..."

The knights shared a nervous glance at the news. "How do you know this, Amber? Did you see him?" Lancelot asked.

Amber shook her head. "Merlin did... Told me... To get you."

"Merlin's awake?" Leon asked quickly.

"There are bigger issues at the moment, Leon!" Amber snapped as she found herself able to breathe again. "We have to get ready, and fast. They'll be here in a matter of minutes. Ready the army, knights, whatever. Get everyone prepared and meet me back in the council chambers."

With that, Amber turned and ran, making her way back to Gaius' chambers, when she ran into Morgana and Gwen.

"Amber, we need to talk to you-" Morgana started, but Amber cut her off.

"No time. Michael is here. Get ready to fight. Go find the others and tell them."

She ran around, trying to track down all the council members and the rest of the people she knew, before she finally found Brodie looking frantic in the hall.

"What is going on?!" he yelled, looking at her for an answer. "Why are the warning bells going off?!"

"Michael's here. Come with me, we have to get back to Merlin."

Brodie didn't waste a second as he darted after her. They made it to Gaius' chambers just in time to meet Merlin as he walked down the steps from his room to the main quarters. There was a sword in his hand and a bag in the other. Amber wanted to know why the hell he had a sword in his room, but she didn't ask. It wasn't important at that moment.

"We've got to get to the council chambers." Merlin informed them. Amber and Brodie nodded and followed Merlin to the large meeting room. There, they met the members of the council joined by Sara and Morgana.

"Alright. This is what we've been training for." Amber began to the intently listening crowd. "We're going to fight this battle, and we're going to win. Do you hear me?!"

It was silent. Until Leon sucked in a breath of air and yelled, "long live the queen!"

The rest of the people in the room repeated this, and with that, they all ran mindlessly into the battle that had already begun. Camelot's army was fighting strong, but Michael's army was-

Amber stopped in her tracks. Merlin noticed this and turned to her. "What's wrong?"

_"Where_ did he get an _army_ from?" she asked.

Merlin only shrugged. "Who the hell knows? This is Camelo

t. Anything is possible, really. Oh, this is for you." he held out the sword that he'd been holding earlier. "It was yours a very long time ago, and it looks like it's going to be yours again."

Amber reached out for it and gripped it tight. She'd heard about this sword before, it was King Arthur's. Excalibur. She shot him a grateful look, only allowing him to go out without a weapon because she didn't think he had much use for one, his magic was powerful enough.

"Wait, again." She said, looking up at him. "There's no way in hell I'm letting you fight in this battle."

"Why not?" he asked her, looking a bit offended.

"Because you're hurt."

"Amber, I'm going to fight with you weather you like it or not. It's my destiny to protect you. I failed once, I'm not going to fail again."

"You very well are. You're going to stay here-"

"We're wasting time!" Merlin yelled, grabbing her and throwing her over his shoulder, doing his best to ignore the pain it sent to his back. He didn't waste a moment as he ran out into the courtyard.

The place was in total chaos when they got there. Merlin set Amber down and instantly went into battle-mode, jumping straight into the heaviest of the war.

Amber made sure to keep an eye out for Michael as she held her ground, but he was nowhere in sight. She wouldn't doubt that the coward had stayed back to watch the whole thing unfold.

She let the rage at this thought fuel her as she lashed out, taking down enemy soldiers and realizing that they were outnumbered, probably by around three-to-one.

She saw Merlin standing off to the side a little and made her way over to him.

"It's no use, we're outnumbered!" she yelled over the loud sounds of swords clanging and people screaming.

Merlin nodded to show he understood but didn't look at her. "There's a way out around the back of the castle!"

"We can't leave everyone!" She yelled at him, appealed that he would even think of leaving their friends here to die.

"This is no time to be noble, Arthur!" Merlin screamed at her, taking her aback by the fact that he'd said Arthur instead of Amber.

"That's _not_ my name, and I'm _not_ leaving them!"

And with that, she dove back into the battle.

Once Merlin'd informed Sara, Brodie, Morgana, and as many council members as she could find of the plan, he made his way back to Amber.

"They've got the plan." he informed her, surprised that nobody was attacking them as they stood there talking, completely vulnerable. "We just need to find Gaius and get out of here. The army will follow us out afterwards." he's probably back in his chambers healing the wounded." Merlin said quickly, his eyes darting back and forth to watch for any attackers advancing on them.

I won't leave this castle!" Amber screamed, and with a flash of his eyes, Merlin had her obidiently following behind him. She wouldn't be too pleased about it, but it had to be done.

"We've got to get out of here. And fast."

"We can't surrender Camelot!" Amber argued.

Merlin rolled his eyes, resisting the urge to smack her upside the head. "Don't you see what's going on here?! Amber, it's not Camelot they're after, it's us!"

A look of realization crossed the girl's face and she nodded grimly. "Alright," she said, and Merlin could tell it was killing her to agree to this course of action. "Let's go, then."

* * *

Amber and Merlin walked through the forest, jumping at any slight sound and always, always watching.

They made on this way for a little while longer until a loud rustling of the bushes made them both stop in their tracks. Merlin, despite his wounds, pushed Amber protectively behind him as he stared at the direction of the sound.

Suddenly the bushes burst and a group of people advanced toward the two of them. They'd have been outnumbered ten-to-one, if the group had been enemies.

"Took us long enough to find you guys." Sara rolled her eyes as she walked up to Amber. "I have to say, though, it feels good to be in pants again."

All the girls- Amber, Sara, Gwen, Morgana and Freya- had changed into trousers a little while ago in preparation for the battle, and it really did make a difference. Of the many things a girl could do in a dress, sword fighting was definitely not on the list.

"So, where are we going?" Morgana asked, looking at Amber and Merlin in turn as if one of them had an answer.

"I've no idea." Merlin admitted.

"So we surrendered Camelot, and you don't have any idea where we're going?" Will asked, glaring at Amber.

Merlin was quick to jump to her defense, though, even against his oldest friend. "We abandoned Camelot because the soldiers aren't going to harm anyone but the knights. They don't want Camelot, they want us. They want Amber."

For a moment Amber was worried that someone would suggest handing her over just to end the war, but nobody spoke up. Instead, a look of understanding crossed the face of every person standing in the clearing.

"So, anyone want to suggest a route?" Elyan spoke up.

"Well, until we know what to do-" Gwen was cut off as the edges of the clearing erupted and soldiers surrounded them from every angle. It was chaos again, and Amber began to wonder if it would ever _end_. She just wanted to stop all the bloodshed and lives being lost and just quit it. Deal with this peacefully. But that wasn't the case, no matter how much she wanted it to be.

As she ruefully ran another man through, a feeling of remorse washed over her. She was killing p

eople. It was for self-defense, but she was still taking the lives of people who's names she didn't even know. She'd bet that they were all creatures of magic, that they probably didn't even have names, but it still bothered her to think that she'd killed more people in the course of a few hours than most serial killers do in their lifetimes. And that thought bothered her.

Still, she didn't stop. How could she, with her allies and friends fighting beside her? How could she possibly set down her sword and let them fight a battle that was hers?

That would make her no better than Michael. Michael, who probably felt no remorse at all of the thought that people were going to die and it was his doing. It more than likely didn't bother him that he was trying to kill someone he'd known since they were both children, one of his oldest friends. I guess destiny doesn't make exceptions for friendship, she thought.

She wondered how long this battle would last. She wondered if she would live. She wondered if she'd be around to see another sunrise. If she'd see her family again. What if she lived, though, and Merlin died? What if Sara died? What if even Thralls died? She didn't want to think about it, but she couldn't force the possibility out of her mind. She spared a second to look around the clearing.

Directly to her left stood Merlin. Merlin, who was the main reason she was here. Merlin, who she loved, but would never tell. Could never tell.

To her right was Sara. Her oldest, best friend. She didn't know what she'd do if Sara wasn't at her side throughout this all. She was her voice of reason, her morale conscience. She'd probably have chopped Thralls' head off by now if Sara hadn't been there, that's for sure.

Thralls. The afro-headed kid who Amber never called by his first name. The kid she'd known forever but had never been friends with. Thralls, who, if she could go back, she'd give another chance. And she'd be friends with him, because deep down she knew she didn't hate him, and if circumstances were different she knew that they would have been great friends.

Next to Thralls was Gwen. The old queen of Camelot, who she didn't like to think of her apparent past with because she loved Merlin. And that she was a girl now. She didn't get how that was supposed to work, but it did. Gwen was a great person, and again, in different circumstances, they'd have been great friends.

That brought her to Morgana. Another reason Amber was in Camelot. Amber didn't know the sorceress too well, but what she did know was that the black-haired girl was feisty and spirited and fought hard for what she believed in. It was something Amber admired about her. She was also not on good terms with her or Gwen at that moment, and she knew that she had to change that to make sure that if any of them died, it would be on good terms.

The knights, Gwaine, Percival, Lancelot, Leon and Elyan. Amber absolutely adored the men, they were like family to her. A group of idiotic big brothers. They all could cheer her up on the worst days and taught her everything she knew about sword fighting. She owed it to them that she could hold her ground in the battle, and she made a mental note to thank them for that later on.

Freya was next to Morgana. The Druid symbol on her arm was the first thing Amber noticed the first time she ever saw the girl. Freya had apparently owned Merlin's heart before Amber had killed her- the queen laughed bitterly to herself as the thought passed through her mind. She knew she shouldn't be pleased about that and she wasn't, she just found it a bit ironic. But despite the unfair, partial one-sided hatred of the Druid girl, Amber liked her a lot. She figured that if anyone other than herself was to have Merlin, her first choice would have been Freya.

Next was Will. Merlin's childhood best friend had never spoken to Amber much and she would change that if given the chance, but that was how things worked out and now she was left at a lack of opinion on the boy. From what she'd heard from stories and what she'd witnessed, she liked him as well. She'd like to get to know him better.

And last was Gaius. She noticed the old physician was standing a bit off to the side. None of the opposing knights seemed too concerned with him, that or they figured the old man wasn't worth the trouble. But he was, Amber knew. Because if they didn't have Gaius, they were borderline _fucked_, so to speak. He was the healer, if they didn't have him, the whole group of allies would slowly get picked off by illness and infection or injuries. Amber admired his determination and mindset. He did his best to treat all his patients, not caring if they were rich or poor. He'd also mentored Merlin, she'd heard. Taught the warlock everything he knew.

Amber tried to lock these good traits in her mind. If she were to die, these were the things she'd want to tell each person. In her last words, she'd tell Merlin she loved him, she'd tell Sara she was glad to have such a good friend all those years, she'd tell Brodie she didn't hate him, she'd tell Morgana she admired her spirit, she'd tell Gwen she had a good heart, she'd tell the knights they were the brothers she never had, she'd tell Freya to take good care of Merlin, she'd tell Will she wished she knew him better, she'd tell Gaius to never change his ways. She'd tell them all she loved them and that if she was given the choice she'd be closer with all of them.

She didn't know if the day would come that she'd have to bear the words to them, but she locked the thoughts away in the back of her mind anyway.

Just in case.

* * *

**so im going to try and spread this battle out a bunch, I'm predicting that with the battle and the aftermath and everything, theres gonna end up being around 30-40 chapters in this, it's a big range but it's going to end soonish**

**I was thinking maybe I'd do a sequel but then I realized that im killing off 75% of the characters and the whole thing would literally be just like 4 characters and nobody else so I ruled out that possibility**

**i might do some "missing scene" one shots or alternate chapters/endings and really just play around with the characters, but it's only a maybe**

**idek what my next fic is going to be tbh I really need a prompt for it, it's probably going to be another het Merlin I'm sorry I ship merthur as much as the next guy im just really bad at writing slash, that is the one and only sole reason that amber is amber it's bc I cannot write slash to save my life literally i read slash more than i read hey but i cannot write it to save my life, i do have an idea floating around my head that ive been thinking of for a few days and i just cannot rid mysrlf of it (it'd be a mergana fic though bc otp) **

**has anyone seen "mamma mia!"? bc if you have thats what im thinking og, a mergana/mamma mia! au and its making me upset i already have a decription for ittttttttttt but idk if im gonna go through with it but here it is so you should tell me if you like the idea or not so here u go:**

_**Meet Morgana LeFay, a young woman about to be married to the love of her life, Merlin Emrys. All her life, she's dreamed of having her father giving her away at her wedding, so she creates a plan to find out which of three men is her father. And does it while trying to keep her mother and fiancé from finding out what she's done.**_

**sooo yeah idk if i want to do it because the ending would be really obvious (cleaerly uther would be her father) but still i think it'd be cute so yeah should yes no**

**-notreallymagical**


	28. Chapter 28

Once they'd managed to get away from the attacking horde, the group walked aimlessly through the woods, nobody having a clue where they were going.

Percival had suggested going to the isle of the blessed, but Merlin was quick to put down the idea as it would have them cornered with no way out. Nobody argued with this.

Gwen insisted there must be another place, and Morgana timidly said she knew of one. When asked where, she confessed there was a castle that not many people knew about in the Valley Of The Fallen Kings, and explained that she came across it in her travels after she'd turned against Camelot so long ago.

They reluctantly agreed to go there, not seeing any better options.

By the time night fell they were all tired and growing grumpy. Will suggested finding a place to rest and get an early start tomorrow, and the reluctance continued with Merlin not wanting to stop but allowing it because everyone looked like they were going to fall over, even though they were already in the Valley of the Fallen Kings and nothing good ever happened there.

So there he sat, next to the fire that he'd started. He held his hands close to it, trying to warm them up. He didn't look up as the leaves rustled behind him and someone sat on the old fallen tree next to him.

"You've got to be getting cold," she said, her voice soft.

Merlin shook his head. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Sara, I'm alright. I've got the fire and my jacket," Merlin assured, painting a smile on his face to convince the worrisome girl further. She didn't look like she believed it much, but she could clearly tell that he wanted to be left alone. So she gave him a reassuring smile and pulled herself to her feet.

As she walked away, Merlin let out a long, unsteady breath of air. How could he have allowed them to surrender Camelot? All those citizens, without a leader. He'd like to hope that Michael hadn't been smart enough to take over, but he couldn't be sure. He just had to pray.

He sat in silence for what seemed like forever, staring into the fire for so long that he was sure he was going to go blind.

"Merlin?" the sound of someone calling his name softly made him jump, but he didn't turn to look. He didn't answer. He stared into the fire again, as if the lapping orange flames held the answer to all his problems. "Merlin, are you alright?" Still, he chose to ignore the speaker. "I'm serious. Answer me."

"M'fine," he said, not meaning for it to come out slurred. But he hadn't spoken a word in a while and his mouth was drying out. He could really go for a drink...

"Merlin!"

The warlock jumped as someone snapped their fingers in front of his face. He looked up at her and gave her a look. A look that seemed to say a million things, and she understood every unspoken word.

"Sit with me," was all Merlin said to her.

And she did. And they sat in cold, fire-watching silence together until Amber spoke up. "Are you coming back?" Merlin looked at her confusedly. "Are you coming back with us when this is all over? Back to LA?"

He sighed, looking up at the dark, star-filled sky. "If I live... It's a possibility."

"Don't say if," she snapped suddenly. "You're not going to die, Merlin, I won't allow it."

Merlin let out a heavy sigh. "I still blame myself for Arthur's death. If there's anything I can do to prevent it from happening again, even if it means laying down my own life, I'd be more than willing to do it."

"So you're saying you'd die for me?" Amber asked, tilting her head slightly to the side in confusion.

Merlin, still looking up at the sky, let his voice get significantly quieter when he spoke next. "It's much more than that."

"What do you mean?"

"I think it's one of those you-had-to-be-there moments." Merlin shrugged, turning his attention back to the fire.

"I _was_ there," Amber cocked an eyebrow in a rather convincing impersonation of Gaius.

"Circumstantially."

"You still haven't given me a real answer," she said, avoiding his gaze and staring into the woods.

"It's a possibility," he repeated. "I may not have a choice. Now, you really need to understand that I do want to go back with you, but... This is my home, too."

Amber nodded in understanding but still avoided looking him in the eye. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Has this been bothering you?"

Amber let out a sigh. "It's just been on my mind."

"It has been bothering you," Merlin concluded, sighing himself. "I do want to come with you, I just don't know how things would play out afterwards. We know that you and Michael... Amber, only one of you is coming home, you know that, right?"

His question caught her off guard. Have did know, it was another thing that had been bothering her. She didn't want to think of it, but she was being forced to now. She swallowed hard and nodded reluctantly. "Yes."

"So what's going to happen when we get back and one kid is dead? How the hell do we explain that without looking insane?"

"We don't," she answered. "How will we get back, anyway? If I die, what will Michael do? Abandon Sara and Thralls and Morgana in Camelot? Merlin, there's so many things that haven't been worked out with this plan. I don't understand what's going on."

"Me neither," Merlin admitted. "I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

Amber was most certainly not pleased with this response, but she couldn't find words to speak to him. She looked down at her feet and began grinding her teeth in frustration.

"Stop that." Merlin muttered. She obliged, clenching her teeth to resist the urge to continue grinding them. "I said stop that." He repeated after a minute or so.

"I'm not doing anything!" Amber snapped. Merlin put his hand over her mouth, staring intently into the forest and sushing her. She followed his line of eyesight, trying to figure out what he was staring at.

Casting a glance over her shoulder, she saw that everyone else had already fallen asleep. How long had she been talking to Merlin?

"Stay here." he whispered, slowly getting to his feet and tiptoeing toward the forest. Amber got up, too, and Merlin glared at her over his shoulder. "_Stay,"_ he ordered. She stopped where she was, her stomach doing flips as he got further and further into the trees. As soon as he was out of sight, Amber grabbed her sword and followed his trail.

She lost his tracks after a minute or so, and, spinning around quickly, realized she had no idea which direction she came from. Stupid, she scolded herself.

A sudden cry from a little ways away jolted her away from her thoughts. "Merlin?!" She yelled. No answer. "Mer-"

She was cut off as a hand flew over her mouth. She lashed out, punching and kicking at her attacker. She tried to scream but it was muffled by the hand. Suddenly she remembered her weapon and reached for it, ready to run her attacker through when they spun her around and she made out the face in the darkness.

"_Merlin_!" She breathed, nearly knocking him over as she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him.

"I'm alright." He whispered, hugging her back and burying his face in her shoulder before stepping back, putting a hand on each of her shoulders and looking her straight in the eyes. "Go back to camp."

"I have no idea where camp is!" she whispered, beginning to sound a bit distraught.

"Back that way." He nodded his head in the direction behind her.

"I heard a yell from over there." Amber informed him. "Someone's hurt."

"I know. I heard it too, that's where I'm going. Now go back."

"I'm coming with you." Amber said, crossing her arms and stomping her foot.

Merlin rolled his eyes at this. "Now is not the time for you to be stubborn! Go back, now."

"No."

Merlin huffed, running a hand through his raven-black hair. "Fine. But stay silent. Not one word, got it?" Amber nodded, making a zip motion across her lips, then pretending to lock it and throw the key away. "Good." Merlin said, turning and leading the way through the trees. Amber followed silently, trying her best to tiptoe behind him. They kept a steady pace for what Amber guessed to be around five-or-so minutes, her trying to keep quiet while Merlin constantly told her to walk lighter.

Another wail rang out through the trees, closer this time, and Amber decided she'd had enough. She picked up a run, leaving Merlin behind. She didn't care if she was following him in that moment, someone was hurt and she was going to find them.

She found them a short while later, lying on the ground surrounded by a pool of sticky red liquid.

"Merlin!" She called, feeling her heart drop to her feet as she kneeled beside the body on the ground. "Merlin, come quick!"

She reached forward, placing her hand on Sara's neck where she expected a pulse to be. Instead, she found nothing.

* * *

**fuCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FuCK**

**IM GOING TO STAB MYSELF IN THE FACE OSNDJSKSJKSK**

**SARA**

**SARA NO**

**NO SARA**

**HSISJMDHSJDJSJSK**

**iM GOING TO BAWL MY EYES OUT OK WHY DID I JUST WRITE THIS I**

**IM GOING TO BED GOODBYE**

**-notreallymagical**


	29. Chapter 29

"She's going to be fine. I can guarantee it."

Amber let out a heavy sigh, dropping down onto the ground. She began pulling out handfuls of grass and making a pile next to her. Merlin and Brodie watched her with concern as the girl fought to hold down tears, and Merlin could see the anger cross her face every time more grass was pulled out of the earth at her hand. Brodie reached out and snatched her wrist to stop her from tearing any more of the weed out of the ground. She shot him a glare and pulled her wrist away. "Don't." She muttered, just barely loud enough for him to hear.

"You need to have faith in Gaius. He'll fix her." Merlin assured her.

Amber nodded, looking down at the ground and running her hand through the grass. She didn't pull it out, though, so Merlin figured that she'd gotten over the anger stage. The next one he knew would be despair or denial. This was Amber LeFraire, after all.

Merlin had rushed up to Sara after Amber had found her, and the girl was frantically screaming at Merlin that she didn't have a pulse. Merlin checked, and she did, Amber just had her hand in the wrong place and was freaking out over nothing. Sara was merely knocked unconscious, a blow to the head, Gaius had diagnosed. The physician assured them that their friend would be fine before making them leave so he could treat her without distraction.

"Amber, Merlin, Brodie, you can all come in now." Morgana said as she peeked her head out through the flap of the makeshift tent they'd set up to shield Sara while Gaius attempted to heal her.

Amber jumped to her feet and ran through the blanket-wall, not wanting to wait another second to see her best friend.

As soon as he laid eyes on her, though, she began to wish she'd stayed outside. The girl had taken a blow to the left side of her stomach area, her right shoulder, and her right thigh. Gaius used what little medicine supplies he had to stitch up the wounds, but it wasn't doing much as she was still bleeding more than Amber could tolerate.

"Why... Why did she go out in the woods?" Amber breathed, feeling her throat tighten. "Why would she leave camp?"

"I don't know." Merlin sighed, putting an arm around Amber's shoulders and hugging her into his body tightly.

"And why did they-" Amber choked out a bit of a son before continuing. "Why would they leave her to die? If they wanted her dead, wouldn't they just do it?"

"I think it was meant to be a warning." Brodie said absentmindedly, kneeling next to an unconscious Sara and staring at her intently.

"What?" Amber breathed, trying to stop herself from shaking at the sight of her best friend on death's door. "What kind of possible warning could slicing her skin mean?!"

"They're trying to show what they're going to do to the rest of us." Brodie informed her. "And they'll probably do it, too, because we're all alone here. The rest of Camelot's army hasn't shown up yet and I highly doubt they will. We're on our own with this battle."

Amber let out another sob and buried her face into Merlin's shirt. The warlock hugged her, giving Brodie a look over her shoulder that said we'll talk later. Brodie nodded, turning back to Sara.

"Come on, I'll get you out of here." Merlin whispered to Amber, who shook her head violently.

"I'm not going to leave her." Amber said, pulling away from the warlock and walking over to Sara.

"Amber, go with Merlin. I'll come get you if anything happens." Brodie promised.

Amber looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded reluctantly. "Alright. But the slightest change in anything and you'll come get me, understood?"

Brodie nodded back, and Merlin led Amber out of the "tent." The rest of the people in the clearing watched as the two of them made their way into the woods.

Gwen and Morgana shared a look, and Gwaine walked up behind them and put an arm around each of their shoulders.

"I think our little warlock has a crush." He laughed lightly, despite the situation they were in.

"On Amber?" Morgana scoffed.

"That's repulsive, he can't have a crush on Arthur!" Gwen said in the same tone as Morgana.

"Ah, but he can and he does." Gwaine laughed.

"How?" Morgana asked, cocking her head in confusion as she watched Merlin walk away from the clearing with Amber at his side.

"Skinny love." Gwaine shrugged.

"Skinny what?" Gwen looked up at Gwaine and raised an eyebrow.

"Skinny love. 'Means when two people love each other but are too shy to admit it, even though they still show it." Elyan said as he approached them. The three of them looked over at him and he shrugged. "I can see it. I don't think I've ever seen Merlin look so smitten with anyone."

"He'll never admit that he likes her." Gwen insisted with a shake of her head.

"Skinny love." Elyan repeated with a nod. Gwen looked up at Morgana who gave a shrug and stared after Merlin.

It couldn't be possible that he was in love with Amber, could it?

* * *

Merlin and Amber walked for a while in silence until Merlin's feet began to hurt and he suggested they sit. Amber nodded but didn't speak a single word as they sat on the log of a fallen tree. Merlin sighed at her silence, turning his head to look at her. "She'll be fine."

"And what if she isn't?" Amber demanded, a single tear falling down her cheek. "She's my best friend, I can't let her die."

"And she won't." Merlin insisted, staring intently into Amber's bright blue eyes. "I promise she'll be alright."

Amber nodded, clenching her jaw and feeling her stomach doing a flip at how close she was to Merlin. She couldn't help but look down at his lips, and her hand seemed to have a mind of it's own as it trailed forward and found Merlin's. The warlock looked down and reached for her hand, grabbing it with his own and holding it tight. He then looked back up at Amber and swallowed hard. She met his eyes again, and this time she found she couldn't tear herself away.

Merlin slowly, carefully inched closer, until his forehead was lightly pressed against hers... One more move and he could kiss her there. He could kiss the first girl in a thousand years, since Freya.

And he almost did. Almost, but stopped himself when he was suddenly overwhelmed with the memory of his first kiss with Freya- the fear, the adrenaline, the joy of finding someone who truly understood what it felt like to be different. The feeling hit him so hard it nearly knocked him over, and he pulled away from Amber faster than he'd expected to and jumped to his feet.

"I-" Amber started, looking down at her feet quickly in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry." Merlin breathed, slowly backing away from her. "I'm so sorry."

He turned away from her and ran back to camp, but not fast enough, and Amber saw the one single tear stream down his cheek.

She stood up to follow him, but she took only one step before something hit her upside the head with so much force it knocked her to the ground, and the world faded to black.

* * *

Merlin rushed into the camp, not knowing if anyone was still awake. He couldn't stop the tears from falling down his face as he threw himself to the ground, pulling his knees to his chest and burying his face in them as he began to cry harder.

Too many emotions overwhelmed him in that moment and he just couldn't hold them in. Fear, regret, anger, shock, they all welled up inside of him and just burst out. It happened so fast and so unexpectedly that it took him by surprise.

He was crying so hard that he didn't even hear the footsteps approaching him. "Merlin?" the voice asked quietly.

He buried his face further into his knees, as if the more concealed his face was, the less the world would exist around him. His body shook with every sob, which aggravated the wounds on his back, and he welcomed the feeling. Physical pain was a nice alternative to emotional pain, and the waves of pain that washed over him every time he sobbed distracted him from the current situation.

"Merlin, are you alright?" The voice asked again, closer this time. Merlin lifted his head to see Lancelot approaching him, concern tainting all his features. The knight knelt in front of Merlin and looked him straight in the eye. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know!" Merlin exclaimed. "That's the problem, I don't know what's wrong!" Lancelot didn't look offended by Merlin's outburst. Instead, he looked... Understanding. For some reason, this rubbed Merlin the wrong way, and he began to yell again. "I don't know what to do! I'm a horrid person, absolutely horrid! I don't want sympathy, Lancelot, I want someone to tell me that what I did was wrong! That I don't deserve anyone's appreciation!"

"Merlin!" Lancelot gasped.

"What would make you say such things?!"

"Because I've done something terrible," Merlin whispered.

"What could be so bad?" Lancelot asked, reaching a hand forward and putting it on Merlin's shoulder. The warlock shrank back and Lancelot retreated his gesture, putting his hand instead on his knee.

Merlin sighed and sat up again. "I like one person, and I love another. And I've... Led on one when I shouldn't have been. I don't know what to do, who to chose." He looked up, meeting Lancelot's gaze with tear-stained eyes. "What do I do?"

Lancelot pulled himself to his feet and looked down at his friend. "Do what your heart tells you, that is all you can do."

And with that, the knight retreated to go to sleep for the night.

Merlin sat in thought for a while, until a feeling of uneasiness washed over him. Something wasn't right...

Amber!

She hadn't returned to camp!

He jumped to his feet, suddenly overtaken by panic and fear.

He began to search around the camp just in case she'd returned and he hadn't seen, but she was nowhere in sight.

"Lancelot!" He called, the tears threatening to fall again. How could he have been so stupid?! So careless?!

"What is it, Merlin?" the knight, joined by Percival and Will, asked the frantic warlock. Merlin's gaze shifted back and forth so quickly he gave himself whiplash, but he ignored it.

"Amber hasn't returned to camp!" He yelled, suddenly taking off towards the woods, not waiting to see if anyone was following him. "Amber?!" He called. His breath began to hitch as he ran, and the tears were now freely falling down his face. He sobbed as he ran, trying to yell despite his crying. "Amber!" He called again, sliding to a stop and spinning around quickly.

A sharp pain suddenly surged through his head and knocked him to his knees. He pressed his hands against his head in an attempt to dull the pain, but instead it only got worse. Merlin couldn't hold down a wail of pain as a piercing buzzing noise filled his ears and sent another wave of pain through his head, so strong that it made him scream with pain.

This was a spell he'd recognize anywhere, it was the same one used on Brodie back in Los Angeles before they went to visit the Council of Avalon with Morgana. It came from his spellbook, the one Michael had stolen from him. There was no way he was casting this from somewhere as far away as Camelot, no, he was here. And he was expecting them. Expecting Merlin.

_Very good_, a voice not his own spoke in his mind, sending another wave of pain through him. Merlin sucked in a breath of air and composed himself before sending thought back.

_I know you took her, let her go!_ Merlin's mind screamed at Michael's.

_You'd like that, wouldn't you_? Michael taunted._ You're the one who left her all alone. Thanks for giving me a prime opportunity, it will not go unappreciated._

As Merlin was about to reply asking how Michael could possibly repay him for this, a wave of pain, much stronger than the previous ones, shot through him and knocked him off his knees and to the forest floor. It didn't fade, though. His mind felt as if it were going to explode and he swore to God he saw the afterlife.

He didn't even know he was screaming until a soft voice broke the walls of Merlin's mind and registered in his thoughts. He slammed his jaws closed and opened his eyes to see who was talking to him.

All he saw was a shape, though, he was still too dizzy to make out a face. Not knowing for sure if this was friend or enemy, he sat up quickly- ignoring the pain it sent to his head, and as quickly as he could slid backwards on the ground away from his possible attacker.

"Merlin, calm down, it's me!" the voice spoke, though Merlin didn't register it. As his vision began to clear he recognized the face to be Will's, and he felt his heartbeat begin to relax a little. "Amber..." He whispered, and his friend took a few steps closer. Merlin shrank back in fear- how could he know that Will wasn't Michael using magic to take on a new form?

Will saw the panic in Merlin's eyes and retreated again, staring at his friend in concern. "The whole camp is looking for her." Merlin heard the words, but his ears seemed to be disconnected with his mind and he didn't recognize them. "Will" may as well have been speaking in German. Merlin, suddenly remembering the situation, jolted to his feet and began looking around for Amber.

How could he leave her alone in the woods in the middle of a war?! It was his destiny to protect her, and he left her to die!

But Michael wasn't done with him yet. The boy sent another wave of pain through Merlin, which again was stronger than the previous ones. It knocked Merlin straight off his feet, and he knocked his head on a rock on his way down to the ground.

He curled up in a ball and pressed his hands to his head to try and ease the pain, but to no avail. The waves came less now, but they were stronger and lingered longer. Merlin didn't know what the worst pain in the world was, but this had to be fairly high up on the list. His vision was completely gone, his ears were screeching with that damn ringing noise, and his entire body felt as if it were on fire. He guessed this would be what it would have felt like if he'd been burned for being a sorcerer back when Uther had ruled Camelot and Arthur was prince. Reality was gone, lost in oblivion. Merlin was alone in blackness, alone to fight the darkness by himself.

He wasn't sure when the pain faded and unconsciousness welcomed him into it's warmth, but he crossed the line willingly. Maybe this is death, he thought. He knew he should fight it, should hold on to the sliver of life left in him, but it just felt so welcoming. He figured it'd be a better alternative to the burning pain of reality.

As he seemingly floated around in darkness, a gleam of light caught his attention and he drifted toward it. He thought he knew it from somewhere...

Avalon! This was the gate to Avalon! He was being offered the chance to join!

He could do it, he could leave the harsh, cruel reality behind and join the ancients in Avalon.

He could do it.

* * *

"Lancelot!"

Will looked up as Merlin yelled the knight's name from across the clearing. He looked around for Lance, and jumped to his feet to join the knight as he walked in the direction of Merlin, Percival at his side.

"What is it, Merlin?" Lancelot asked the frantic warlock.

"Amber, she hasn't returned to camp!" Merlin yelled, suddenly taking off in the direction of the woods in a fit of panic.

"Merlin!" Will called after his friend, then turned to Lancelot and Percival. "What do we do?"

"You follow him, we'll get everyone looking for Amber." Percival said, turning and running toward the rest of the people gathered in the clearing.

Will obliged to his orders, running after Merlin into the dark woods. Walking through the forest at midnight wasn't something he would normally do, but he did it for Merlin's sake.

He lost Merlin's tracks after a minute or so, and was growing worried when a sudden wail rang out through the trees.

"Merlin!" Will called, picking up a run and following the source of the scream. He found his friend a short while later, kneeling over on the forest floor and clutching his head. His agonized screams made Will's heart fall to his feet as he shook Merlin's shoulders. "Merlin?" He said in the softest tone he could.

Merlin stopped screaming and slowly opened his eyes to look at Will.

The warlock jolted upward into a sitting position, fear clouding his eyes. "Merlin, calm down, it's me!" Will yelled at his friend. Merlin's eyes refocused and he blinked as Will's seemed to register in his mind.

"Amber..." Merlin whispered, looking around the clearing through tear-stained eyes. Will took a step toward his friend, and Merlin shuffled backward in a panic. He took a step back and Merlin seemed to relax a bit.

"The whole camp is looking for her." Will informed him. Merlin looked as if he was worlds away in his own mind, which he probably was. Suddenly the warlock jumped to his feet and began looking frantically around the clearing. Will guessed he hadn't even heard what he'd said, and was now looking for Amber again.

He opened his mouth to say something to Merlin, when the warlock's knees gave out from under him and he fell to the ground, his head smashing into a rock with a sickening thud.

"Merlin!" Will yelled, dropping down on his knees beside his friend. Merlin's breathing was slow and ragged, and for a moment, Will feared for the warlock's life. He began to wonder how Michael was using spells on Merlin, then it hit him that Michael put him on spell lock and could just as easily temporarily take it off. Will knew that once this was all over, Merlin would be right back to being immune to magic. He picked up Merlin softly and began making his way back to camp, to find Gaius and have him see what was wrong with him. As soon as he'd made it back, he rushed straight to where the old physician had set up his things. "Gaius!" he called, throwing the blanket to the side and setting Merlin down on the ground next to Sara.

"What's happened to him?" Gaius asked, beginning to inspect his old ward.

"I don't know, he was screaming when I found him, then he just passed out!" Will yelled, frantically checking Merlin for a pulse. It was there, but it was much less strong than Will knew was healthy.

"His breathing is slowing," Gaius said, taking Will's place in checking Merlin for a pulse. "He's growing weaker."

"Merlin!?" A frantic Morgana tore through the blanket-wall and dropped to her knees beside the warlock. "What's happened to him?!"

"We don't know." Gaius told her.

"I found him screaming in the woods, he looked paler than usual and he looked like I was about to kill him. Then he just... Passed out. Smashed his head on a rock." Will said, nodding to the gash on Merlin's forehead that had stopped bleeding a minute or so ago.

"I think he has a concussion." Gaius said, pressing the back of his hand to Merlin's forehead. "And he's burning up."

"Wait."

Gaius and Will both looked over at Morgana, who looked more nervous than the both of them put together.

"When I was banished from Avalon... I was with Merlin and Brodie. Michael had stolen Merlin's spellbook and attacked Brodie using a spell that Merlin said could kill a person if the user was strong enough. Do you think that's what he used?"

Gaius sighed heavily and nodded slowly. "I thought about that, but it's a rare spell that only few people know. I didn't think he knew it."

Morgana nodded stiffly, not wanting to accept Merlin's fate. He was her friend, how could she? She let out a long sigh, her gaze reluctantly drifting from Merlin over to Sara. "And what about her? How is she?"

"She'll pull through, I have no doubt about that." Gaius reassured the panicky sorceress. "It's Merlin I'm worried about now."

"Can't we do something?!" Morgana yelled suddenly, growing more and more frustrated with each passing moment that Merlin wasn't awake. "Anything to fix him! To fix them both! If he dies, we're screwed! We've already got Sara on death's door and Amber missing, we don't need Merlin to leave us, too!"

"I will do everything in my power to fix him," Gaius told her. "I promise." Morgana sighed heavily and nodded reluctantly. She opened her mouth to say something further but slammed her jaws closed when Merlin's back arched and his mouth flew open, and he let out a long, pain-filled scream. It pierced Will's heart and he squeezed his eyes shut in remorse for his friend. Suddenly, Merlin's scream cut off abruptly and he sucked in a ragged breath of air. Will's eyes flew open and he reached a hand out toward the warlock. Gaius was conjuring up something on the ground where the rest of his supplies were, and as Will watched helplessly as his friend held onto what little bit of life left in him, the old physician poured the concoction down the warlock's throat.

"If that doesn't fix him, I don't know what will," Gaius sighed, looking slightly defeated as he twisted the small bottle back and forth in between his index finger and thumb.

Merlin's breathing became slower and more hitched with each intake of air, with more time in between each inhale that Will could be comfortable with. As Morgana clutched Merlin's hand tightly, the warlock's chest fell with a long exhale of breath, and didn't rise again.

* * *

**well I'm really sad now**

**this story is nearing a close and I know this battle is really shitty I'm just trying to get as much angsty stuff in here because it's literally my fave to both read and write, the next chapter will be more action filled I promise**

**and for Merlin's fate, well, I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get to it**

**also i havent updated in forever im sorry but i actually have an excuse**

**ive been working one this one-shot merthur au and its here archiveofourown works/823005 so if you could go read it and maybe comment on it itd mean so so so much! :D**

**chapter one of my next fic is in the making I hope you guys all like it I'll try to not make it as shitty as this one! and for all of you guys who've held on until this point, bonus points for you this fic is terrible I don't know how you do it but a+ for u guys I hope all your dreams come true**

**-notreallymagical **


	30. Chapter 30

Amber shrank back in her cell when she heard the doors rattling and someone approaching her.

"Rise and shine." The person smirked down at her, and she recognized the rather irritating voice.

"Let me go." she demanded, refusing to look up at him.

"But you just got here! At least stay for the entertainment!" He sneered, reaching down and grabbing Amber by the collar of her shirt and using it to pull her to her feet. Amber didn't think twice about spitting straight in his face. He dropped her shirt and wiped his face clean, then wound his fist back and slammed it into her jaw, effectively knocking her to the floor again.

"Get up." He instructed, and Amber obliged while holding her face. "You're lucky, though, because you get a little show. Let's go." He pulled her along a long hallway and into a dark, dreary room. He shoved her into a chair and sat in the one next to her, and before she could do anything, one of his henchmen had her tied up and unable to move.

"Now we can get started." Michael said with a smirk so evil it sent Amber's heart into her feet. He began whispering something in a language that Amber didn't understand, and she could only assume he was casting a spell. The mirror on the table suddenly changed to a picture of Merlin in the woods, looking around and calling her name.

"Merlin!" She yelled, hoping that he could hear her, too. This only earned her a backhand slap against the face from Michael.

"Shut up, you're gonna miss the good part!" And with that, Michael began searching through a book before finding another spell, and she watched helplessly as Merlin was knocked to his knees by Michael's words. Amber swore she could feel the warlock's pain, but brushed it off as just the sight of him being viciously attacked.

"Stop it!" Amber screamed. "Please, stop hurting him! Kill me if you want, just leave him alone!"

"Patience, princess, we'll get there eventually." Michael smirked, then his eyes narrowed in concentration as he stared at the mirror.

"What are you doing?" Amber whispered, feeling sickeningly, guiltily fascinated.

"Talking to him." Michael said absentmindedly, then chuckled slightly and said the same spell again. This time, it knocked Merlin to the ground and he began to scream. Each wail pierced Amber straight through her heart until the pain became unbearable. She was about to do something, anything, when Merlin's screams subsided. She peered into the mirror and, to her relief, saw Will with Merlin. Michael didn't look the least bit frustrated by this, and Amber began to fear that Will was in store to share Merlin's pain.

A few words were exchanged between the two that Amber didn't quite catch, and it was a while before Michael hit Merlin with a spell again. Merlin's screams were duller now, until they eventually faded into silence.

"He won't last long now." Michael smirked, sounding disturbingly proud of himself. How could a sixteen year old boy take so much pride in killing someone?!

"You're a monster." Amber whispered, staring at the now-reflective mirror.

"I try." Michael shrugged. "Wonder who I can take out next. I already got that idiot and the perky one," Amber immediately knew that Michael was referring to Sara when he said_ the perky one._ "Who else can I take out? Maybe the weird red-haired one?"

"Don't touch Thralls." Amber growled, feeling oddly protective over the younger boy. "Don't you _dare_."

"Obviously you care about him very much to refer to him by his last name." Michael taunted with raised eyebrows that reminded Amber of Gaius.

"It's something I've always done. You should know, we've been friends for the longest time." Amber spat, not looking him in the eye.

"Yeah, I have many regrets in life." Michael shrugged. "Well, you can go back to your cell while I think of who to take out next."

The guard who'd been standing off to the side approached Amber and untied her, then began roughly pulling her back to her prision cell. After the door had been closed and she was alone, Amber dropped to her knees and buried her face in her hands. Merlin could very well die, and there was nothing she could do about it. She was locked in this damn cell! She began to wonder why Michael hadn't just taken her out with his magic, and decided that he wanted her to watch as her friends died off one by one to torture her in the worst possible way before killing her himself. Still, it made her curious as to why he was risking her escape by leaving her alone down here. Maybe he was just a lot dumber than she gave him credit for.

* * *

_"No!"_

Morgana's scream could easily be heard from Camelot. She threw herself forward toward Merlin's unmoving body, and Will held her back with tears running down his own face.

"Let me go!" She screamed, kicking and punching at Will.

"It's too late, Morgana." Gaius breathed, looking as though he'd just been kicked in the stomach and had the wind knocked out of him.

"It _can't_ be too late!" She screamed, still fighting against Will's iron grip around her shoulders.

"I'm sorry." Gaius shook his head, turning away from the two younger people to hide any emotion beginning to show on his face.

"Let me go!" Morgana repeated, and when Will still didn't oblige, she shouted a spell and sent him flying away from her. As soon as she was free from his grasp, she rushed toward Merlin and began screaming spells at him, too. She knew it was useless, he was still on spell lock and healing spells never were her forte, but there had to be something, _anything_ she could do. He couldn't be gone, he _couldn't_ be!

She allowed a few tears to escape her eyes as she grabbed a handful of his shirt in her fist and buried her face in his shoulder.

She felt a light hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Freya looking down at her with tear-stained eyes. Morgana was a bit surprised at this- despite being on the council of Avalon together for hundreds of years, the two girls had never been more than acquaintances.

Morgana wiped a tear off her cheek with her sleeve and pulled herself to her feet, walking reluctantly away from the tent when a familiar voice murmured her name.

"Morgana?"

She stopped dead in her tracks and slowly turned to see the source of the voice.

"Merlin!" She yelled, running back to the warlock who'd been dead not a minute before, nearly shoving Freya into the ground in the process. "You... You're alive?!"

"It would seem so." Merlin smiled his cheeky little smile while holding himself up on his elbows. "What happened?"

"Michael." Was the only word Morgana had to say for Merlin to understand. He pressed the heel of his hand to his forehead and let out a groan. "What happened?" He asked again, and Morgana figured he was still dizzy and didn't realize he'd just asked the same question not a minute before.

"What do you remember?" Freya asked, and Morgana suddenly remembered that the girl had been there the whole time.

"I remember... Looking for Amber. Why was I looking for Amber?" Merlin asked, lying back down and lightly closing his eyes.

"We'll explain that later. I'm going to find Gaius." Morgana said, getting to her feet again and walking out into the clearing, leaving Freya alone with Merlin.

As she looked around, she caught no sight of Gaius. She was about to go further into the woods to find him, but instead her attention was directed to the bush line where Brodie ran toward her at seemingly full speed.

"Brodie, slow down!" She yelled at him, grabbing his shoulders when he reached her.

He panted a few times, then looked up at her with a distressed look in his eyes.

He only had to say two words to make Morgana's heart sink. "Battle time."

* * *

Amber looked up as the doors of her prision cell began to rattle again after what she assumed to be a few hours of her sitting alone in the dungeon. She could physically feel her heart sink at the face that greeted her.

"Tegan._ Tegan Morris_. How the _hell_ did you get here?!" She whisper-yelled at him.

He looked up and she was surprised to see remorse in his eyes. "Michael brought me here, like he brought you. I'm the leader of his army, you know."

Amber rolled her eyes and got to her feet. "Come to get me so I can watch more of my friends die?"

"Not exactly." He said, walking into the cell and grabbing Amber's hands. She was expecting to be roughly pulled out of the cell, but instead, she felt the cuffs around her wrists being pulled off.

She looked over her shoulder at Tegan who gave her a sad smile before throwing the cuffs into the far corner of of the cell and gesturing for Amber to follow him. She began to feel uneasy about him- how could she know that this wasn't a trap and he was leading her straight to her death?

But, really, what did she have to lose?

So she followed him, being as quiet as she could. She had to appreciate Tegan's smarts- he'd already knocked out every guard from the dungeons to the main gate.

"Why didn't Michael kill me with his magic?" She asked the question that had been eating her alive inside as they walked through the castle.

"Because he can't." Was Tegan's answer.

"What do you mean, he can't?" Amber asked confusedly.

"He's tried, believe me. He can't get through. There's something about you and he can't defeat it." Tegan explained, peeking around a corner to make sure it was clear.

"So, something's protecting me?" She tilted her head in confusion at his explanation.

"Or someone."

"Merlin." Amber breathed.

Tegan nodded. "He's making sure Michael can't hurt you."

"Why isn't he protecting himself?" She groaned at Merlin's stupidity. The idiot was risking his own life to save hers!

"He can't. Spell lock." Tegan sighed.

"He's going to die, anyway." Amber sighed, feeling her eyes fill with tears and trying desperately to blink them away.

"You don't know that. He's a strong kid, I'm sure he'll pull through. That old guy will think of something." Tegan shrugged.

"And what will Michael do if Merlin lives?" Amber asked, the fear in her voice clear. "What will he do to him?"

"Nothing. He won't know what to do." Tegan shrugged again.

"But he'll do that spell from the book he had and just kill Merlin again. Or anyone else."

Tegan stopped walking for a moment and reached into the bag slung over his shoulder. He pulled out an old, broken-down book and handed it to Amber. "Not without this, he won't."

Amber ran her fingers along the cover and smiled. So Tegan really was on their side. She didn't know what to say, so she just gave him a grateful look, and he nodded in response. "We have to keep moving. Come on."

"What if Michael catches you?" Amber asked him as she began walking again.

"You ask way too many questions. Let's just establish that I saved your neck and I'm probably going to lose my neck for it, and be done with it."

Amber was silent for a moment, trying to figure out how to respond to this. The only thing she could think of was a whispered "Thank you." She realized it was probably the dumbest thing to say after it'd escaped her mouth. But Tegan only nodded solemnly as they approached a large gate.

"I can't go any farther than this. Your friends are only an hour or so walk that way." He pointed in a direction that Amber guessed was North, but, then again, it could be South...

"Why so close?" She asked, tucking the spellbook under her arm protectively.

"Because the closer Michael is to you guys, the more powerful his magic is." Tegan explained, then gave Amber a push out of the castle. "I'll try and find a way to break his spell lock. Keep testing to see if magic works on him. And good luck."

Amber nodded and turned away from him, then began walking.

"I'm coming, Merlin... Just hold on, please."

* * *

**SOMEBODY IS GOING TO DIE IN THE NEXT CHAPTER I'LL LET U PONDER OVER WHO U THINK IT IS BUT IM JUST WARNING U THE MASSIVE HEAP OF CHARACTER DEATH IS ABOUT TO BEGIN**

**I WON'T TELL U WHO BUT I WILL SAY ITS SOMEBODY I'VE WANTED TO KILL OFF SINCE THE DAWN OF TIME AND IM CURRENTLY PRAISING THE HEAVENS THAT THEY'RE FINALLY GOING TO DIE HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA**

**anyway I actually don't hate this chapter mostly because I adore tegan and now that we've established that he's actually good I have a reason to sleep at night yaaaaay**

**-notreallymagical**


	31. Chapter 31

The battle raged on in the small clearing. With Merlin barely able to stand on his own two feet, Morgana was alone to fend off most of the attackers using magic. He tried to help, but every time he used his magic, it made him feel even more dizzy than before. The rest of their group had returned to the clearing shortly after Brodie, and they were all now involved in the battle.

Morgana cast sideways glances to check up on their group, and everyone seemed to be pulling their weight pretty well.

She felt relieved when the attackers started coming less and less, and it became significantly easier to hold them off.

Eventually they took out the last opposing enemy and sent him running off into the woods.

Morgana looked around the clearing at all the slain bodies and blood all over the floor. She let out a heavy sigh and turned away from the mess, trying to hold down the feeling of ending to vomit.

She turned back around, though, when she heard a cough from behind her and saw Freya struggling to stay on her feet, and her eyes trailed down the druid's body to where an arrow had embedded itself in her stomach. She took a step toward the girl, but Merlin was faster, seemingly feeling better now, and he caught Freya as her knee's gave out and she fell to the ground. Morgana felt like someone was shoving a sword through her heart as she watched Merlin's reaction to the situation. Despite never being too close to the Druid, Morgana felt very saddened by her being shot by the arrow. She'd have approached her if Merlin hadn't been reacting the way he was to the ordeal.

He held her close into his chest, his body shaking with every sob that escaped his lips. She strained her ears to hear what he was saying to her, and was barely able to pick up the words being exchanged between the two.

"I can fix you." Merlin insisted, gripping the girl's hand tight.

Freya shook her head and smiled up at Merlin. "It's alright. This was my fate. I'm sorry, Merlin."

"No, I'm not-" Morgana felt like someone had ripped her heart out of her chest as Merlin's words hitched. "I'm not going to lose you again."

"I'm sorry." Freya repeated.

"I'll never forget you." Merlin whispered to her through cries of despair.

Freya reached a hand up and stroked Merlin's cheek, and Morgana barely heard the words "Goodbye, Merlin," escape her lips.

Merlin sniffed again, and caught her hand as it slid off his face and fell limp beside her. He began to cry harder, and Morgana slowly approached the distressed warlock. She put a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him, and was surprised to have it roughly batted away.

"Don't." He whispered, so quiet Morgana wondered if she'd actually heard it. Merlin then stood up, Freya's lifeless body in his arms, and he turned away from her. "I'm taking her to the lake."

"You shouldn't go off alone." Morgana warned him as kindly as she could.

"I'm sure I'll be fine." Merlin replied, but by the tone of his voice, Morgana wondered if he'd even care if anything happened to him. He'd already lost Freya, and who knows where Amber was, she wasn't surprised he was falling apart a bit.

As soon as Merlin disappeared through the tree line, Morgana turned toward the clearing to see that almost everyone in the group was watching the place where Merlin had disappeared, as well. A few had tears in their eyes- Gwen and Will, and Sara- Sara, who Morgana hadn't even noticed was awake. Morgana brushed away a tear of her own and opened her mouth to say something, then slammed it closed again as the bushes began to rustle. She pulled her sword out of its sheath as quietly as she could and began walking slowly toward the source of the sound.

Suddenly a figure broke through the tree line, and Morgana tightened her grip on the sword in case she needed to use it, then let it fall to the ground when she realized who the newcomer was.

"Amber!" She gasped, reaching out her hand for the younger girl to steady herself.

"Hey, Morgana." Amber breathed, taking Morgana's hand and trying to stand upright properly.

"What happened?! Where were you?!" Gwen asked, materializing beside Morgana and staring at Amber with shock and concern.

"Michael. He has a castle a little ways back there. I think it's the one we were going to." Amber explained quickly. "Took me forever to find you guys... Does anyone have a drink?"

Sara limped over to Amber and threw her arms around her friends neck. "I was worried about you." The shorter girl said.

Amber hugged her friend back tightly. "I was worried about you, too." When she stepped back, Amber took a look around the clearing. "Where's Merlin?"

"He, uh..." Morgana started with a grimace. "He went to the lake."

"Alone?" Amber gasped in concern.

"With Freya." Gwen said while biting her lip.

"That's good, then." Amber sighed, looking down at her feet. "Guess Merlin won't hesitate to go back to her once I'm out of the picture."

"Freya's dead." Sara blurted.

Amber's head shot up and a sad, guilty look immidiately crossed her face. "What?"

Sara nodded solemnly. "Merlin took her to the lake.

Amber bit down hard on her lip and looked down at her feet. "She was so sweet..."

"People are bound to die, everyone, you all have to remember that." The slight coldness of Morgana's tone made Amber's skin crawl a bit, but she forced the feeling down. From what she'd heard, Morgana used to be a ruthless murderer. She wasn't surprised that the sorceress wasn't overly affected by death.

But Amber was. And even though she didn't know Freya too well, she was still overwhelmed by the sudden urge to vomit. It hit her so strong she had to sit down, and since there were no appropriate seats around, the ground was the next best thing.

She accepted hugs and words of relief from everyone else, but the absence of Merlin and Freya was far too apparent for her to be comfortable. She hadn't spoken a word to anyone after her conversation with Morgana, Gwen and Sara, she was waiting for Merlin.

It'd been a good twenty minutes of the black-haired boy being absent from the clearing when Amber finally got fed up. She set out into the woods, fully aware that Brodie was not-so-stealthily following suit behind her, and began her search for the missing warlock.

She called out Brodie a short while later, after the completely non-secretive crunch of leaves behind her had become absolutely unbearable, and the boy seemed to be utterly stunned that Amber knew he was there. This irritated her for some reason, possibly because she'd protected him from Michael only to come back and realize that it was a really dumb thing to do because the boy had as much brains as a stick of butter.

But she couldn't contain the fear that at any moment Michael could knock Brodie to his knees with just a few words. She knew it was unlikely since Tegan had betrayed his friend and given her Merlin's spellbook- which she had hidden from everyone in the camp, she didn't want anyone knowing she had it-, but it still worried her.

She wasn't worried about herself, though. After a bit of practice she realized she could actually feel the presence of Merlin's metaphorical bubble protecting her from any harm. She began to play with it a little and realized she could actually move it- and cast the walls outward and toward Brodie. Once the idiot had been contained in the bubble, she allowed herself a bit of relief- that was shortcoming as she was knocked to the ground by a body slamming into hers.

"Ow!" She exclaimed, pressing the heel of her hand to the place on her head that had slammed into the other person. She didn't even get a second look at the person before they tackled her to the ground and she was engulfed in a storm of skin and jacket and an all-too-familiar red neckerchief.

"Merlin!" She breathed, now lying on her back on the forest floor as the warlock towered over her on his hands and knees.

"You're back?!" The words came out of Merlin's mouth more of a question than a statement.

"Looks like it, yeah." Amber smiled up at him. "Mind letting me up?"

He stood up and offered her his hand, and after she'd gotten to her feet, she was engulfed in a hug. She held him tightly, missing the warmth of his embrace. When he released her, she smiled up at him only to see that he looked dumbfounded for some apparent reason. "What?" She asked when it became awkward.

"You... How did you control my magic?" He asked her, narrowing his eyes in a way that made her want to squirm under his gaze.

"You mean the bubble thing?" Merlin nodded in response to her question and she continued on, "I'm not sure. Just... Did it."

"Well, I didn't think that was possible." He breathed, looking over at Brodie as if the redhead had even the slightest idea what Merlin the apparent madman was talking about.

"Didn't think what was possible?" Brodie's voice was tinged with confusion as he spoke from beside Amber.

"That you could control my magic when I put the shield around you." Merlin explained. "I felt you push it out. Why?" His question was directed at Amber, and she awkwardly glanced at Brodie.

"I was just playing around with it..." She lied, not wanting the redhead to know that she was concerned for him.

Merlin nodded but didn't look entirely convinced. "I could feel you using it- my shield- and I knew you were here."

Amber found herself laughing at the name Merlin used to refer to the bubble. "Shield? What is this, Twilight?"

"As close as you can get with the magical creatures and shit." Brodie joked, and Merlin and Amber both shot him a glare.

"What else can you do with my magic?" He asked, directing his question at Amber as if she had an answer.

She only shrugged in response. "Dunno. I didn't even know I could use your magic."

"Well, let's give it a whirl." Brodie said, walking closer to Amber and Merlin. "Got any spells for us, Mr. Wizard?"

"Uh..." Merlin seemed to be racking his mind for something. "Something easy, I guess. It's meant to start fires." His gaze turned to his hands and he whispered a word, and a small flame appeared in his hand.

"Doesn't that burn?" Amber asked in fascination.

"Not me. It'd burn you, though, if you touched it." Merlin shrugged, then made a fist around the flame, and when he opened his hand again, the fire was gone. "You try. See if anything happens."

Amber nodded reluctantly, holding her hands out like Merlin had done, and muttered the same word that he had. She jumped a little as a tiny flame, much smaller than Merlin's, appeared in her hand. It gave a bit of a tingling sensation but didn't burn her at all.

"Amazing..." Merlin whispered. He said something else in his strange language and the flame in Amber's hand disappeared. As fast as she could blink, Amber felt the bubble surrounding her vanish, leaving her feeling exposed and vulnerable.

She looked up at Merlin and he gave her a reassuring smile. "I'll put it back in a second, just try the spell without it so that we know the shield is what's causing this."

Amber nodded, whispering the fire-word again. When nothing happened, she felt the bubble wrap around her again like a blanket and allowed herself to relax a bit.

"That's so cool." Brodie whispered. "What does that shield thing even do?"

"Well, I put it on Amber so that my spell lock would be on her, too- I can't get rid of it, but I can stretch it- to ensure that Michael couldn't do anything to her with magic. I guess it's much more complex than I thought." Merlin said with a shrug. "We'd better get back to camp and tell everyone about this."

It disturbed Amber a bit at how quickly Merlin got over Freya's death. First Morgana and now Merlin- she was beginning to think that all Medievals had a much lesser remorse level than Moderns, and she felt a bit ashamed at the fact that she was a partial Medieval, too.

As she followed Merlin to camp, she couldn't help but play around with the fire spell he'd taught her. After a few trials of trying to make the fire and failing, Merlin called over his shoulder, "Stop that."

"Why isn't it working?" She asked, growing frustrated.

"Because I'm restricting you. Now knock it off."

She was confused at how he could so easily keep her in the bubble but hold his magic back- so much that she began feeling frustrated at the lack of knowledge she had on the subject.

When they finally reached camp, Morgana was the first to approach them, Gwaine, Gwen and Gaius trailing behind her. "You found him, I see." Morgana commented as she saw Merlin beside Amber and Brodie.

"Sure did," Amber replied, "And, boy, are you in for a shock." Morgana looked confused and, to Amber's slight amusement, a bit frightened. "S'nothing bad, don't worry." Amber assured her.

"I've found a way for us to share our magic with the rest of them." Merlin said to Morgana.

The High Preistess looked surprised at his statement. "And how on earth did you discover this?" She asked disbelievingly.

"Amber was playing around with the shield I put around her and ended up controlling it." Merlin informed her.

"Well, that doesn't prove anything." Morgana shook her head and rolled her eyes a bit.

"Yes, but, then, we decided to test it out. Amber cast a spell and it worked."

"And we all know it was the shield because there isn't a magical bone in Amber's body." Brodie chimed in, earning himself a swift slap in the cheek from Amber.

"I'll have you know that we are here because of the combination of me and magic, so you can shut your mouth, Thralls." She shot at him.

He laughed in response to her temper and they both turned back to Morgana.

"So, let's see it then." The black-haired girl crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at them.

Merlin's eyes turned a bright shade of gold for a second or so, and Amber could almost feel a wall around her being torn down. She assumed that was Merlin's way of holding his magic back from her, but she couldn't be too sure. Nonetheless, when she whispered the fire spell, the small flame appeared in her hands instantaneously.

"Well, I'll be damned." Morgana breathed. "And it works with everyone?"

Merlin shrugged. "I only tried it out with Amber."

"Brodie, are you in his... Whatever-it's-called?" Morgana asked. The redhead didn't seem like he knew quite how to respond to this question, he probably couldn't feel it like Amber could. She reached out with her mind in a way she didn't even know she could and sent the bubble through him, effortlessly engulfing him in it.

"Now he is." Amber answered, not quite sure why the bubble wasn't around Brodie in the first place. She must not have noticed it pulling it away from him, and she hadn't been the one to do it. The only other person who had control over it was Merlin, and she couldn't figure out why he would take Brodie out of it.

Nonetheless, when the boy muttered the fire-word, a small flame appeared in his hand and Morgana looked fascinated.

"And you can move this... Shield?" Gaius asked, directing his question at Amber.

The queen looked up at him and nodded. "Yes, I can. I don't know how, but I can."

She caught Merlin sigh out of the corner of her eye but forced herself to ignore it for the time being. His internal struggles weren't her top priority at that moment, and he was probably just still upset over Freya. Yes, that had to be it.

* * *

**so i didn't know where else to end this chapter so it just kinda stopped there sorry bros**

**anyway we'll learn a bit more about this "shield" in the next chapter, but it's a bit complicated and ya it might confuse u but if u have any questions about it then just leave a review or message me whatever floats ur boat**

**oh and this is my second update today but i felt like i owed you guys because ive been really lousy in my updating so i went ahead and wrote a second chapter to update today you're bloody welcome**

**-notreallymagical**


	32. Chapter 32

As the day progressed, it became apparent that Merlin's shield was a lot more powerful than they'd all fathomed. Everyone- well, everyone but Amber, for some reason- could only stay in the shield for a short amount of time before it began to physically affect Merlin. It seemed to be taking it's toll on the warlock, with the sharing of his magic and constant work of keeping it expanded around the others. The only person he could hold it around without getting tired was Amber, and after however many hours they'd been working on it, nobody still knew why.

One of the main things that bothered Amber about the shield ordeal was that at any moment, Michael could tear it away from them. She had to rely on the hope that he hadn't yet realized that they were using his own magic against him, but she didn't know if he could feel the spell being used like Merlin could. Because every time someone other than Amber moved the bubble, Merlin looked as if someone had knocked the wind out of him. Since Michael was the origin of the spell and Merlin was just the fuel to it, there was no guarantee that he couldn't feel it. She had to cling to the hope that he didn't know, after all, if he did, wouldn't he have taken Merlin's spell lock away by now?

As time went by, she could feel the shield becoming more and more apparent around her until it felt like a constant electric current just barely touching every inch of her. It fell naturally around her in such a way that if she didn't know any better, she'd think that the spell lock was on her instead of Merlin.

As she tried to think of what could possibly be holding the bubble around her without harming Merlin, she began to pick at it absentmindedly, sending it out and then pulling it back in. She stuck her hand out of the barrier and felt like she'd just taken her hand out from under a warm tap and left it exposed to the cold air. She jumped when Merlin appeared beside her, a bead of sweat trickling down his face and the front of his hair soaked.

"Would you stop playing with it, please?" Merlin's tone took on a slight begging manner that made Amber feel guilty for toying with the shield. She began to wonder if telling Morgana about his newfound abilities was a good idea; Merlin would probably have been perfectly happy leaving the spell lock just around the two of them without having Morgana prodding around it.

"Sorry." She muttered, sliding to the side on the log that she was sitting on to allow him to sit.

He did so, but was uncomfortably close, even for Merlin- who was always closer to her than anyone else. He was practically sitting on her lap. She raised an eyebrow at him, somewhat accusingly, but for what she didn't know. She didn't really have anything to accuse him for except for trying to give her a lap dance, which seemed like a highly improbable scenario.

"If you want to sit on my lap, Merlin, all you have to do is ask." Amber said sarcastically, rolling her eyes at him. What the hell was he doing?

"Sorry. Just trying to get the stretch out of this damn barrier." Merlin muttered, sliding closer still, if that were even possible.

"The stretch? I thought it didn't affect you to have me in it?" Amber asked, feeling a bit nervous at the prospect of him taking her shield away. She liked the protection of being inside it, especially since Merlin was there with her. It gave her a bit of relief in the war scene.

"It doesn't. It's just, if I get too far it gets harder to keep it there, y'know? It doesn't have as much of an effect on me as if, say, I put Elyan in, but it still takes a bit of a toll. When you were with Michael, the hardest thing I had to do was keep it around you. I didn't even notice I was doing it, though. It was purely reflexes. Instinctive. I just thought I was tired from being, you know, borderline murdered." Merlin explained to her with a dark laugh.

This gave Amber a bit to think about. She'd heard bits and pieces of destiny and Kilgharrah and Merlin's need to protect Arthur, and it wasn't unlikely that it'd carried on to her in this life. And maybe it wasn't totally emotional, either. Maybe there was something a bit supernatural about it. Maybe Merlin didn't just feel like protecting her. Maybe he had to.

Perhaps that was why she dreamt about him before she even met him. Perhaps that was why she was pulled to him when they first met. Perhaps that was why she was still drawn to him, maybe it wasn't just some petty schoolgirl crush that made her weak in the knees every time the warlock was around. Could it be possible that, when Arthur's soul was put back on earth, there was a magical pull there?

"Merlin..." She whispered, needing answers to these new questions.

"Hmm?" He murmured, his hand tracing shapes on Amber's. Normally this would have sent a shiver down her spine, but there were more important things to worry about at the moment.

"How... How did you find me? Back in America, how on earth did you track me down? How did you know where I was?"

Merlin mused about this for a moment or so before answering. "I'm not sure. Something was pulling me there. Like, I knew you were there, in LA, in that school. Something drew me over there."

This confirmed Amber's theory, but didn't answer many of her questions. So there was a supernatural pull there, sure, but how strong was it? "What was it like when Arthur died?" The question came out on it's own, as it Amber had no control over her own mouth. She didn't look Merlin in the eye, instead cast her sights out toward the clearing where everyone was beginning to settle down for the night. It seemed as though the pair of them were always the last two awake.

"Like I had my soul ripped out." Merlin said with a light chuckle. "What's with all these questions?"

Amber sighed before deciding it'd probably be best to explain her thoughts to him. He'd probably know more about the magical aspect to their relationship better than her. And if all else failed, she could always just ask Morgana or Gwen. "I think... The reason you can keep me in the shield easier than everyone else, the reason we always have to be so close..." her breath came out in a shudder against her will as Merlin placed his hand on her knee, and she looked up to meet his sparkling blue eyes staring down at her intently, "I think there's something more than just me being Arthur. You said you could feel that I was in America... I think there's a reason. I think it's almost..._ Supernatural_." It wasn't until the words were out of her mouth that she realized just how dumb they sounded. She half expected him to laugh in her face and tell her that she was leaning towards insanity, but instead he looked thoughtful.

"You may be onto something," he nodded slowly. Then, with one quick survey of the camp to see that nobody was watching, he turned to look at her. "I want to try something. Don't freak out, okay?"

She gave him a nervous glance through narrowed eyes, wondering what he could possibly be getting at. "No promises," She muttered.

"Just... Hold still." He instructed, and Amber nodded with a nervous gulp.

And then, before she could blink, Merlin grabbed her shoulders and pulled her toward him, slamming their lips together and nearly putting Amber into cardiac arrest. When he pulled away, he looked a bit embarrassed, but not half as much as what Amber assumed she looked like. Her eyes looked like planets and her jaw was nearly on the floor. Merlin muttered a quick "Sorry," and refused to look her in the eye for a moment. When he finally did, his eyes weren't their usual bright blue, instead they were a shimmering gold color. "There's definitely something different about this." He concluded as the gold drained from his eyes.

"Your eyes... They're gold, like when you do spells and stuff," she told him.

He laughed and nodded. "I know. Your's are, too."

She nodded slowly, still in shock at what Merlin had done. Did that just happen?

He then grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet. His grip on her hand was a bit painful, but she ignored it. It felt good to be this close to him, like she'd been missing out on something for so long. She blamed it on the stupid crush she'd been harboring, but there was a new spark inside her that could only be magical.

When they were far enough away from the clearing, Merlin gripped her hand even tighter, if that were even a possibility, and began speaking in a weird language that she wasn't sure was the same as the one he used to cast spells. She didn't care much, either. The only spell she knew was the one that created a tiny tongue of flame in the palm of her hand that should have left a burn but didn't.

The dragon appeared a moment or so later, a smaller one next to it, and since Amber had never been so close to one before, she let out a small squeak in fear and jumped behind Merlin for protection. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder in reassurance, but it didn't do too much to hide the fact that there was a massive, free-lance, God damn _dragon_ standing in front of her. Two, actually. A _massive_ dragon, and a somewhat smaller dragon. It wasn't the most comfortable situation.

"What can you tell me about the ties I have to Amber?" Merlin asked the dragon. Did the beast speak English?

"You and the girl are more connected than you would think, young warlock,"he dragon said. His voice was so wise, so ancient that it actually scared Amber even more than she already was.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Merlin asked.

"You are but two sides of the same coin, as you once were, but even more so now than before. You are the reason she is walking the Earth, the reason Arthur was able to rise again."

"And what about Michael?" Merlin asked, his tone taking on a more frightened edge.

"There are ties with the boy, too, but not as strong. You and the girl have a bond that is much stronger than you would be able to fathom. A bond that is centuries old," Kilgharrah told Merlin. His gaze then shifted to Amber, sending a nervous chill down her spine. "I assume you've discovered as much, yes?"

Amber swallowed hard and forced herself to nod. "Yes. I can use his magic."

"Indeed you can. But keep in mind there is a downside to every situation, weather you may like it or not."

And with that, the massive dragon spread it's wings and took off, smaller dragon following suit behind it.

Amber let out a shaky breath as the huge creature left, and her gaze immediately found Merlin. "So, what do we do now?" She asked, and he shrugged in response.

* * *

Merlin led Amber back to camp, holding her hand tighter than he knew he probably should, but he couldn't help it. The need to be close to her was so overpowering he couldn't help but give in. And, hey, at least he could blame it on a hex and not just him being attracted to her. Maybe that was why he got over Freya's death so quickly, more quickly than he was comfortable with.

He couldn't push down the need to be closer to her than he was- he wanted to lie with her in his arms and hold her tight and just be with her, but that couldn't happen. Not for a while, anyway.

So he made do with just simple touches- hand holding, brushing her hair behind her ears, poking her cheek. He knew this was Arthur and he knew he loved Freya and he knew he should feel guilty about feeling how he did for the royal prat Arthur Pendragon, but he didn't, and for some reason he didn't care, either. Blame the pull, blame the pull.

As they got closer to camp, Merlin dropped Amber's hand and switched to holding his arm around her shoulders. He didn't expect anyone to be awake, so it surprised him when he saw Morgana's bright blue eyes staring at him through the darkness. "Go wait over there, I'll be right back." Merlin whispered to Amber before sliding his arm off her shoulders and walking in Morgana's direction.

When he reached her she smirked up at him. "Got a little crush, I see?"

Merlin laughed awkwardly and ran a hand through his jet-black hair. "No."

"I'm sure. But I can tell you that she most definitely shares your feelings, so get over there and make a move, _Emrys_."

Merlin rolled his eyes at her and shook his head. "Even if I did like her- which I don't- there's no way Arthur bloody Pendragon would like me back, alright? None."

"Well, Arthur might not," Morgana mused as the smirk on her face grew larger, "But Amber might."

Merlin scoffed at this and kicked a small pebble near his foot. "They're the same person."

"True, but they're still very different," she laughed, laying back down with the smirk still painted across her features. "Good night, Merlin."

"Night." Merlin laughed with another roll of his eyes and made his way over to Amber.

"What was that all about?" Amber asked as Merlin approached her, and popped a nut into her mouth absentmindedly.

"You really shouldn't eat mysterious food, you know." Merlin half-heartedly scolded as he sat down next to her.

As soon as he was on the ground she immediately slid closer to him and offered him one of the nuts in her hand. "They're delicious, though. Try one."

Merlin figured that if she hadn't died yet, it was unlikely that she would, so he accepted the nut and popped it into his mouth.

They sat in silence for a while longer, eating the nuts in Amber's hand while practically wallowing in awkward. When Amber finally spoke up, she guessed that about 10 minutes had gone by of them just sitting there, both too nervous to speak to the other.

"Merlin?" She asked quietly.

"Hmm?" He murmured, staring out across the camp. Elyan had been set on watch duty but Merlin couldn't figure out where he was in the darkness- he could hardly see 5 feet in front of him.

"Are we just going to sit here and pretend that we didn't kiss earlier?"

The question caught Merlin off guard and the nut lodged in his throat, causing him to violently cough to get it out. When he finally caught his breath again, he looked over at Amber and she looked more shocked at his reaction than he did at her question. "The... That kiss didn't mean anything," he stuttered as he shook his head quickly.

Amber raised an eyebrow at him. "_Reeeeeeally_?" She asked, dragging on the_ e_ disbelievingly.

"Really," Merlin nodded awkwardly. "It was... Purely... Experimental."

Amber laughed lightly in a way that reminded Merlin somewhat of Gwen. "It was an experiment?"

Again, Merlin nodded, then silently cursed at himself for nodding too much and looking nervous. "For science," he said with an enormously awkward smile. Everything about them at that moment was awkward.

"_Scieeeenceeee_." Amber repeated slowly, raising her eyebrow even higher in a rather dauntingly accurate representation of Gaius.

"Science." Merlin verified.

Amber laughed again and gave him an amused, disbelieving smile. "Good night, Merlin." She sang, rolling her eyes and lying down. She pressed herself against Merlin and he felt that familiar tug pull him toward her. He snuggled up to her and she grabbed a fistful of his shirt, falling asleep with her head nestled in the curve of his neck.

* * *

**current death toll: 1/?**

**-freya**

**I ADORE THIS CHAPTER U MIGHT NOT BUT AMBERxMERLIN IS M RIGHT ABOVE AMBERxBRODIE BUT IDK WHY THAT'S ON MY OTP LIST NOTHING'S GOING TO HAPPEN WITH THEM AS U CAN PROBABLY SEE**

**anyway i just really really love fluffy merthur moments (im gonna call them merthur bc I cant think of a ship name for amber and Merlin that doesn't sound like some form of std) and I think that's why I love this ch so much I also for some reason like the whole shield and supernatural pull aspect idk I did take inspiration for the shield from twilight ok sue me but ya it really isn't anything like twilight just the fact that it's...a...shield**

**so yeah I hope u enjoyed sorry I'm taking the battle so slow and I know it's unlikely that they haven't been attacked yet especially being in the valley of the fallen kings but the next chapter is probably going to flash over to Michael and Tegan (tegael forever) (otp) (no I'm kidding ew) (why would u even) and so we can see why they haven't attacked yet so just [jonas brothers voice] hold on**

**but dont hold on for long because im updating twice tonight ok yay**

**-notreallymagical**


	33. Chapter 33

Tegan wearily knocked on the door to Michael's chambers. He'd like to think that he was overthinking everything and that there was no way the boy knew he'd betrayed him, but there was no guarantee of that. He was the leader of Michael's army, though. Maybe it was just a strategy meeting. Again.

"Come in," a voice called from inside the room and Tegan took a deep breath before bushing the door open. As he took a step in, his eyes drifted to Michael. The sorcerer sat at a table, elbows placed on it and bent at the elbow so that he rested his face on his hands. Tegan tried not to look nervous as he approached him.

"You sent for me?" The brown-haired boy asked, trying to keep his voice from shaking. He knew what Michael was capable of, he'd seen it. He most definitely did not have the conscience of a normal sixteen year old boy. It worried Tegan a bit, Michael had never been one to be as ruthless as he was being now, but he blamed it on the whole being Mordred's reincarnation thing.

"Yes, I did. Take a seat." Michael's voice was flat as he gestured to an open chair across the table from him, and Tegan obliged. As Tegan sat down, Michael lowered his hands to the table and stared intently at his friend. "Do you have any idea where our prisoner has gone?"

Tegan felt himself tense and hoped the flinch wasn't visible. He cleared his throat and forced himself to look at Michael. "Not a clue," he lied. But, really, who could blame him? Michael wasn't in his right mind and hadn't been for a very long time, and murder was very well legal in medieval times.

"Really?" Michael tilted his head to the side as his eyes bore holes through Tegan's skull.

Tegan swallowed hard and nodded. "We've got search parties looking all around the castle area-"

He cut himself off as Michael slammed his hands down on the table. "The _castle area_?! Do you really think she's still in the_ castle area_?!" Tegan shrugged but refused to meet his eyes. This earned him a toss against the nearest wall by Michael and his wizard powers. As he struggled to his feet, Michael slammed him back into the wall using the length of his forearm against the taller boy's throat. "Don't make me kill you, T. I don't want to kill you." Michael muttered through clenched teeth. "But I can and I _will_ if I ever find out that you helped that little_ bitch_ in any way. Got it?" Tegan nodded as much as he could and Michael released him. "And there's something else."

"What?" Tegan asked as he rubbed his now-sore neck.

"The little runt got that damn spellbook." Michael muttered. "And they're fucking around with my shield."

"You mean they're figuring out the glitches of the wall?" Tegan questioned.

Michael took a mirror off the wall and placed it on the table, gesturing for Tegan to join him. The brunette obliged, and peered over Michael's shoulder as the shorter boy began muttering words in that creepy-as-hell magic language. The mirror then changed from their reflections to an image of the "enemy base," as Tegan jokingly called it. It showed Amber and Merlin sitting and talking to each other. Michael muttered something else and a small elastic-like line appeared around them. The wall. It was around Amber.

"What's the big deal? Just take it away." Tegan shrugged as if it was an obvious solution.

Michael glared at him over his shoulder. "I can't. Because if I do that, I can't do anything to him without that damn wizard girl interfering and fixing him. And now that the book is gone, I can't make a more secure one!"

"So leave it. You said yourself that she's the only one he can hold it around for too long, and it's not like it blocks physical attacks." Tegan pointed out. He felt bad, plotting against his friends like this, but he had to get Michael to trust him. If he was going to betray him, he may as well do it right.

"So we'll just have to take them both down with swords, then. The old fashioned way," Michael sneered, and Tegan felt a chill run down his spine.

"So, are you going to do anything about Amber, then?" Tegan asked, curiosity getting the best of him.

"I can't do anything, that's the problem." Michael sighed, shaking his head. "Last time I tried to do something she escaped before I could. Next time I get her, I'm taking her down straight away. No playing around this time."

Tegan watched as Michael stormed out of the room, leaving him alone, and slammed the door behind him. Tegan flinched, then let out a heavy sigh and sat down at the table. When he looked up, he realized Michael forgot to change the mirror back to reflective, and it still showed an image of Merlin and Amber. He watched intently, trying to make out what they were talking about. He knew he'd promised Amber that he'd try and find some way to break the spell lock, but it seemed like they'd found a way to use it to their advantage. Maybe it'd be in their best interest for him to just leave it. If only there were some way to communicate with them...

It was no use, though. Tegan was no magician, that's for sure, and everyone other than Amber- unless she'd told the rest of them what he'd did- still thought Tegan was evil. It wasn't the best predicament, but it was best to just leave it. As long as Michael thought he was on his side, that's all that mattered.

* * *

"We should really get moving and find some better shelter."

Merlin looked up at the girl as she spoke. He didn't answer, though. Just cast his gaze down to the firewood he'd been collecting. Amber sighed, setting her pile down and sitting beside it. "Have you been avoiding me?" Merlin shook his head slightly, and Amber wouldn't have even noticed it if she hadn't been looking for it. "You're lying," she accused through narrowed eyes. Merlin shook his head again, visibly refusing to speak even a word. "What is up with you?" Merlin bit his lip as he stumbled, tripping over his own foot and falling to his knees, dropping the firewood in the process.

Amber sighed and switched from sitting cross-legged to her hands and knees and began helping Merlin gather the sticks. She heard him curse under his breath and shot him a look, and he turned his head the other way. She rolled her eyes and threw all the sticks back to the ground, sitting back on her knees and letting her anger overtake her. "What is your problem?!" She demanded, not caring that everyone in the camp could hear her and were most likely watching. Merlin flinched and froze, his hand enclosed over a stick. He tightened his grasp on the branch a few times, then dropped it and got to his feet. Amber watched helplessly as he walked away from her, completely clueless as to what he was so closed-off about.

She did her best to ignore Brodie as he approached her and took Merlin's position picking up the scattered branches. "What was that all about?" He asked her.

"Not a clue," She muttered, snapping a stick in half and tossing it off to the side. "It's been two days and he hasn't talked to anyone."

Brodie sighed, looking over his shoulder at Merlin as he sulked alone on the other side of the field.

"He was fine the other night. Woke up in the morning and decided he was going to see how much he could piss me off, I guess," Amber muttered, picking up her pile of branches and rising to her feet. Brodie did the same, and they walked together to the pile of firewood gathered next to an ash-covered pit.

"I doubt it's like that. Did you say anything to set him off?" Brodie asked as he began setting branches in the fire pit.

"No! I didn't say anything to him!" Amber yelled, taking into consideration how close the warlock was. "He just decided he wanted to be an _ass_!" She raised her voice on the word ass, and watched through narrowed eyes as Merlin flinched.

"We shouldn't be having a war in the middle of another war," Brodie warned, raising an eyebrow at Amber.

"Please don't go all wise on me, Brodie, it _really _doesn't suit you," Amber said, and Brodie shot her a look that told her to shut up. She rolled her eyes at this, snapping another stick. "Tell Merlin not to fight, then. He started it."

With that, she stood up and stormed away from him angrily.

Brodie groaned, finishing piling the branches, and began to make his way over to Merlin. The warlock had his face buried in his knees, so it surprised Brodie that he saw him approaching. "I don't want to talk about it," he muttered.

"Then don't talk. Listen." Brodie snapped, lowering himself onto the ground next to Merlin. The black-haired boy shuffled away from Brodie a bit, but didn't run away, much to the shorter boy's relief. "You can't keep moping around when there's a war brewing. You're our best bet at winning and we have to have you on top of your game. If whatever you're upset about concerns Amber, we can keep her away from you if it comes to that."

"Leave me alone," Merlin tried to say, but it came out more as a grumble as his mouth was covered by the heel of his hand.

"What's got you avoiding her, anyway? Just the other day you two were inseparable, and now you're acting as if you'll combust if you get too close to her," Brodie observed.

"What's it to you?" Merlin muttered, getting to his feet and storming away from Brodie.

The redhead groaned and leaned his head back on the tree he was sitting in front of. After a while of being left alone, he decided he could use a walk. He nervously approached Amber, not sure if she would bite his head off or not. "Amber?" He asked wearily.

She glanced up at him and nodded. "Thralls."

"Fancy going for a walk?" He asked in a joking British accent, making it seem more for her sake than for his. She nodded in agreement and the two of them began walking through the woods.

After they were a good distance away from the camp, Amber let out a distressed groan and pressed her hands to her forehead. "Why won't he leave me alone?!"

"Who?" Brodie questioned.

"Merlin! I've tried to get rid of this damn bubble six times now, and he keeps sucking me back into it!" He saw relief cross her face and assumed she'd freed herself from the shield. "Better," she sighed in relief and began walking again.

"Shouldn't you keep it? You never know when Michael could choose to attack, you know," Brodie pointed out.

Amber rolled her eyes in reply. "Let him take me."

Brodie sighed, knowing it'd be best not to argue with her. He'd never win. So, instead, he changed the subject. "Do you miss home?"

Amber sighed again, this time in remorse instead of relief. "Yeah, I do. I miss my dad."

Brodie felt the edges of his lips begin to pull up. "I never thought I'd say this, but I miss my sister."

Amber looked down at him. "You have a sister?"

Brodie nodded, a sad smile on his lips. "Her name's Abby. Abigail, but if you call her that, she'll rip your head off."

"What's she like?" Amber questioned, for the first time publicly wondering about Brodie's personal life. He always seemed so closed off, so private, that Amber realized she hardly knew a thing about him.

"She's got the same hair color as me, but she got lucky with hers and it's straight instead of bushy. She has more freckles than me, too. She's older than me and we fight a lot, but ever since she went off to college we've gotten closer."

Amber listened, smiling as Brodie talked highly of his sister. She wished she had a sibling of her own, someone to tease a lot but who'd always be there for her. She had her friends, sure, but she wanted sister or brother. "You love her." Amber nodded.

Brodie sighed, and Amber caught sight of his eyes beginning to water. "Yeah, I do. A lot. I miss all my family."

Amber felt her throat begin to tighten as well, but forced the feeling away. She was more focused on the fact that Brodie Thralls was crying. Brodie Thralls was showing emotion. Brodie Thralls wasn't a robot, he was, in fact, a human. And Amber was allowed to see. If only for a few short seconds, but it felt good to have at least one person emotionally affected by their predicament as well as her, though she'd never admit it to him. She could never admit that she didn't hate him, bickering with him was too much fun. So they both hid the fact that they genuinely liked each other, even though both of them knew that the other didn't truly resent them.

"Sorry," Brodie muttered, sniffling and wiping his eyes. "We should probably be heading back."

Amber nodded but didn't say anything. As she followed him back, she felt the damn shield wrap around her again, and fought back the urge to scream. She knew it would physically affect Merlin to have her out of the bubble- she'd noticed it taking it's toll on her, too-, but she didn't care. Clearly she was mad at him, clearly she didn't give a damn about if it made them both weaker. Couldn't he take a hint? Couldn't he notice she was all but screaming "leave me alone, I'm mad at you!"?

Why was Merlin so keen on avoiding her, and yet still protecting her at the same time?!

* * *

**current death toll: 1/?**

**-freya**

**2nd update tonight swag**

**oooooooooo some amberxbrodie (but not really)**

**anyway I dont particularly dislike this chapter [audience gasps in background] I know I hate 99% of the things I write but I think it's that little amber brodie moment that makes me not hate it hey did anyone get my ender's game reference in there no ok**

**aaaaaanywayyyy the big battle is coming up soo don't hate me pls I'm just trying to take things slowwww**

**hope u enjoyed this story is almost finished! and i have a surprise for you guys at the end of this story so stay tuned! :D**

**-notreallymagical**


	34. Chapter 34

Something was very wrong.

Percival was a highly observant person- more than most people would think, and his silence was usually caused by his habit of watching. And as he watched Merlin, he could tell that something was horribly wrong. It didn't take a genius to notice how strange the warlock was acting, and Percival was surprised no one had noticed him yet. Well, either that, or they had noticed and were just ignoring. For some reason, Percival seemed to lean more towards the latter.

Merlin had been clumsy- not his usual, idiotic clumsy, more of a distracted, absentminded clumsy. And he was keeping immensely far away from Amber, which was the most un-Merlin-like thing Percival had observed.

As he watched Merlin mindlessly stare at the fire, lighting it, then putting it out, then lighting it again, then putting it out again, he felt a pang of sorrow for the boy. Nobody was comforting him, nobody was asking him if he was okay- which he clearly wasn't.

As he was about to approach Merlin- who was now making various shapes with the flames; horses and dragons and griffins and knights-, Gwaine decided that would be a good time to join him and get into a really long story about a bar fight he once got into. Percival held up his right index finger to silence the knight, narrowing his eyes in Merlin's direction as the warlock turned the flames a bright blue color.

Gwaine shut up immediately, following Percival's line of sight and watching Merlin as well. Gwaine leaned closer to Percival as he followed the taller man's gaze. "Smolder," Gwaine whispered not-so-quietly in Percival's ear, then burst out laughing at his own lame joke. It wasn't even a joke though, because the fire was burning. Percival wondered if Gwaine even knew what smolder meant, and figured against it.

The larger man sushed him again and rose to his feet, making his way over to the black-haired warlock who had moved on from color-changing and was now just poking at the burning pile of wood with a stick.

"Entertaining yourself?" The knight asked, and Merlin jumped as if he hadn't even realized Percival was standing there- which he probably hadn't.

"Just trying to cure boredom." Merlin muttered his reply and began stabbing the fire again.

"I don't think running a fire through with a branch is much of a boredom blaster." Percival shrugged, then sat down on the ground next to Merlin. "What's wrong?"

"I guess I'm just still upset over Freya." Merlin shrugged. Percival didn't doubt that the Druid's death did have an effect on Merlin, but he knew that was only part of it. The other part, he figured, had something to do with a certain reincarnation of a certain king.

"You can tell me if something's on your mind," Percival told him quietly. "I'm your friend."

Merlin nodded slightly but didn't reply. Percival sighed at his lack of interest in the conversation and rose to his feet again, just in time for Gwaine to walk by him and whisper "smolder" again.

The long-haired knight walked away laughing harder than he should have been at the "joke", and as Percival cast a glance back at Merlin, he felt reassured as he noticed the edges of the boy's lips pull up a bit.

* * *

"_Where is Brodie?!_"

The entire camp's attention was turned toward Amber as she stormed into the camp, face bright red and body soaked to core.

Morgana tried to contain her laughter, and Gwaine didn't even bother. Amber glared at the knight and Gwaine shut up immediately.

"Where is he?!" She demanded again, scanning the clearing slowly. "When I find him..."

"He went out looking for herbs. For Gaius." Elyan told Amber, the edges of his lips pulling up at the edges and hands behind his back.

"Yeah right, he's too lazy to even get up before noon. I know he's here, where is he?!" Amber nearly screamed.

Her head whipped around as she heard the familiar laughter ringing out from across the clearing and turned to face the ginger in question.

"What's the matter, your highness?" He asked as he walked closer to her. "Mind getting a little wet?"

"I'm going to kill you!" She screeched, diving forward and wrestling him to the ground. They fought for a minute or so until Will and Leon pulled them apart. Brodie was laughing harder than he should have been, and Amber was shooting him death glares.

"This isn't funny!" She yelled at him, pulling her arms away from Leon but didn't attack Brodie again. The redhead shrugged, the stupid grin not fading off his face.

"What'd you do to her?" Lancelot asked as he approached the scene.

"He dumped water on me! A whole bucket of water while I was looking for food!" Amber screamed, brushing her soaked hair out of her face. Brodie began laughing again, clutching his stomach as he did so. Amber ran at him again and Leon restrained her.

"Brodie, you shouldn't be wasting our water." Lancelot attempted to scold, but nobody could really take it seriously as the knight was holding down a laugh himself.

Amber stormed away from them and grabbed a change of clothes, then walked behind Gaius' sheet-wall and began to change. Once she was in a dry change of clothes, she pulled the single hair elastic she'd had around her wrist when Michael had brought them to Camelot and tied her hair up with it. She emerged from the curtain and the entire camp seemed to be avoiding her gaze. She rolled her eyes at this and approached Sara, who looked up at her and smiled reassuringly.

"He was just trying to have some fun, you know," her friend said.

Amber rolled her eyes. "I'm not one to hold a grudge. I'll just get him back when he's least expecting it."

Sara laughed once and Amber rolled her eyes again. Brodie then approached them and sat down next to Amber. Sensing the tension, Sara evacuated the scene, leaving the two of them alone. "Sorry." Brodie muttered, to Amber's surprise.

Still with wet hair, Amber crossed her arms. "Okay."

Brodie rolled his eyes. "Am I forgiven?"

"We'll see." Amber replied, leaning back on the tree she was sitting in front of. Brodie narrowed his eyes at her, then shook his head with a look on his face that said whatever.

"This feels like the Hunger Games," Amber sighed, biting her lip. "How we're all just sitting here, trying to survive and waiting for someone to come and kill us."

Brodie laughed at this observation, scanning his eyes across the clearing. "What district do you think everyone'd be from?"

"You, probably ten or eleven." Amber shrugged, glancing at him. "I'd give Lancelot a six or seven... Elyan and Gwen, maybe a nine."

"I think Will'd be an eleven." Brodie chimed in. "Leon could probably be a three or four. He'd be a career."

Amber laughed. "So would Percy. I think Gwaine could be an eight or nine."

"You'd be a one or two." Brodie said, which startled Amber.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" She asked, raising an eyebrow because she honestly wasn't sure if Brodie meant to compliment her or belittle her.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you know, those are the careers, and they tend to be... Ruthless and violent. And they don't care about anything but themselves." She explained.

"True, but they're also driven, ambitious and, you know, you."

"Me?"

"You're a career, no question. And I'd be a ten or eleven." He laughed a bit. "And you'd be trying to kill me off. With your district partner, Michael."

"Are you saying I'm like Michael?" Amber demanded, feeling fury well up inside of her. She was nothing like Michael!

"No, I'm saying you're both like careers. Only he doesn't give a damn about who he kills, whereas you actually, you know, have a conscience."

"But, just to be clear, you are comparing me to Michael." She rolled her eyes at him. He actually had the audacity to compare her to the boy who was trying to kill her?!

"There's your inner career coming out." Brodie said in a level voice. "Morgana would definitely be in the one-to-three range with you two. And Merlin... He'd rank around me."

"Merlin'd be a thirteen. Only he'd be killed in the explosion." Amber muttered, crossing her arms. "Or we'd get into the arena and I'd kill him myself."

"Whoa there, tiger. Don't let the career get the best of you." Brodie laughed, getting to his feet. "Sorry again that I dropped water on you. Needed to take my mind off things in the arena."

Amber watched as he walked away, then sighed and looked to the other side of the cleaning to where Merlin was watching her through narrowed eyes. She felt the all-too-familiar cover of the bubble wrap around her and decided she'd had enough. She jumped to her feet and stormed over to him, determined to settle this once and for all.

"What is wrong with you?!" She screamed at him.

Merlin looked a bit taken aback by her sudden anger. "I-"

She wasn't in the mood to listen to him. She didn't want to hear his voice. She didn't want to be in his presence. "You don't talk to me for nearly three days and yet you still insist on trapping me in your damn shield?!" She rambled, and he scrambled to his feet to look down at her as she continued, "I don't want your help, Emrys, nor do I need it. I'm perfectly able to defend myself on my own, thank-you-very-much!" She tried to ignore the sadness that crossed his eyes as she continued on with her rage-fest. "I'm not your God damn toy! You can't just use me when it's in your best interest, then throw me away when you get bored, but still keep me locked up inside your twisted little toy box!"

"I didn't mean to-" He started, and again Amber tried her best to ignore the fact that his eyes were beginning to dampen.

"Didn't mean to what? Have your entire plan go to shit? Because that's exactly what's happened, Merlin, and I've had enough of it!" As she finished the sentence, stomping her foot for emphasis, she felt a rush through her veins that made her shiver, and, before she could blink, Merlin was being thrown backwards away from her.

Her hands flew to her mouth as Merlin hit the ground, and as he propped himself up on his elbows (Amber had no idea how the hell he managed to be, apparently, completely fine after a fall like that), she saw the look of complete and utter disbelief written across his features.

"How the hell..." He whispered, but allowed himself to be distracted as Gaius rushed toward him and began checking him over for injuries.

Morgana was at Amber's side instantaneously, staring the girl down with a look that made Amber wish the earth would open and swallow her inside of it.

"The hell was that?!" The sorceress demanded, clenching her fists at her sides with such anger that Amber genuinely feared for her life.

"I don't know, I only meant to yell at him!" Amber spluttered, being completely honest. She'd never intended to hurt Merlin- well, physically, at least-, nor did she have any idea how she'd managed to toss the boy over ten feet across the clearing.

"Then why did you throw him?" Morgana asked, looking like she was having a ridiculously hard time keeping calm. She knew the girl was hot-headed on a good day, and the fact that her own "team mates" were fighting against each other in the middle of a war really couldn't be too easy of a situation. Brodie's words from earlier rang through her ears,_ we shouldn't be having a civil war in the middle of another war._ He was right, of course. He always was- though she'd never tell him so. It'd go right through his abnormally bushy hair and into that thick skull of his. Well, he didn't really have a thick skull- he was excruciatingly humble and just so damn noble that it actually irritated Amber sometimes. He was like that perfect storybook hero that everybody adored. It was just another one of the many things that annoyed her about the kid.

"I didn't mean to throw him!" Amber repeated, throwing her hands into the air in frustration.

"What happened, then?" Morgana inquired.

"I don't know!" Amber screamed, nearly slapping the girl next to her. She put her head in her hands in defeat, angry at herself for unintentionally hurting Merlin, angry at Merlin for pushing her to a point where he made her throw him, angry at Morgana for freaking out about something Amber couldn't help.

Amber felt the bubble retract from her and looked up at Merlin, who was giving her a look she couldn't quite recognize. He looked... Confused. "I thought I was restricting you," he whispered, just barely loud enough for her to hear. She shot him a look and he sighed, speaking louder the next time. "I was holding back my magic, like I did before, when we first figured out about the shield. I don't know how you managed to get through to it."

"Two sides of the same coin, Merlin. You and Amber are joined together on a level far more connected than any other relationships you've seen," Gaius explained. "You are the reason she walks the earth today, the reason Arthur was allowed to live again."

"That's what Kilgharrah said. So, why am I not as connected with Michael, then?" Merlin asked.

"Because he is darkness and you are light. You and Mordred have been enemies for an eternity whereas you and Arthur were allies. But you are connected to him as well, Merlin. You are the source of his magic, and without you, there is no Michael, and there is no Amber."

"So, what are you saying?" Gwen asked, suddenly appearing beside Amber.

Gaius took a deep breath before speaking. "Well, since Merlin is the source of magic that sustains Arthur and Mordred's reincarnations, if he were to be killed, I'm afraid Amber and Michael would be killed with him."

* * *

**current death toll: 1/?**

**-freya**

**o snap**

**AND GWAINE "SMOLDER" I LITERALLY LAUGHED S O HARD WHEN I WROTE THAT I LOVE THAT PART IM PROBABLY THE ONLY ONE WHO LAUGHED AT THAT JOKE BUT IT WAS FUNNY SHUT UP**

**anyway the battle is coming I promise I'm just trying to drag the story out as far as I can, also i have all the rest of the chapters written and ill probably post them soon maybe ill post 2 a day idk but the story is finished! i still have that surprise for you guys though so stay tuned for that ;-)))**

**-notreallymagical **


	35. Chapter 35

**In response to Hannah, since she was a guest, well obviously they're going to fall in love it's a merthur fic? I've kinda said that like 6 times ambers said like 17 times that she loves him so if you don't like that you should have stopped reading by now sorry im sounding mean but? it's a merthur fic? and I've already said my reasoning for making amber a girl because its my inability to write slash so it was a quick fix solution and yeah but thanks for the review**

* * *

_She was running, so fast. He was coming for her, and she couldn't get away from him._

_She regretted leaving him behind, regretted letting him die just to save her own skin. She was selfish, and now her friend was dead._

_As she tripped over something she couldn't see in the bleakness and fell to the ground, she could hear him approach her. Light suddenly filled the pitch-black corridor and she turned over, determined not to show fear in what she was sure would be the last moments of her life. And as he towered over her, she stared him straight in the eye._

_"My, you're brave, aren't you?" He asked, smirking down at her. She didn't say anything. He laughed at this, positioning the sword above her heart. She tried not to jerk back as it tore through her shirt and pierced her shirt. "Not so high and mighty, now, are you?"_

_"I can still kill you," she shot at him, trying to keep the fear out of her voice._

_He laughed once. "You keep thinking that. I know it irritates you that I could kill you without a second thought, and you'd never be able to shove a sword through my heart."_

_"You never used to be like this, Michael. What happened to you?" She whispered._

_He looked as though he was considering the question, and she sighed in relief as he pulled the sword back a little, only to have it pressed back and him whisper, "Destiny."_

_"Destiny is no excuse to kill innocent people," she told him._

_He rolled his eyes. "And I suppose you think you're innocent?"_

_"What have I done to you?!"_

_"You can't talk me out of this. You're far from innocent, you left your 'friend' back there to die. And, guess what? He's dead. And you're next."_

_"You only killed him to get to Arthur," she pointed out._

_"True. He was in my way, what did you expect? Now it's your turn, Morgana."_

Morgana jolted up, a scream escaping her lungs. She instinctively reached for her wrist, even though the bracelet hadn't been there for hundreds of years.

"Morgana? Are you alright?"

The sorceress felt an odd sense of deja vu from when Gwen used to check up on her back in Camelot when she started having her bad dreams. She cast the girl a smile and nodded. "I'm fine, thanks."

Gwen didn't look too convinced, but Morgana turned away before the girl could ask further questions.

As she laid back down on the grass, she began to wonder what the dream had meant. She hadn't had a vision like that in hundreds of years. She thought she'd outgrown them, but apparently she hadn't.

And in her dream, someone was dead. Who was going to die? But, then again, she wasn't fighting back against Michael with her magic in the dream, so she couldn't be too sure if it even was a vision. She was sure that, put in a situation like that in her dream, her first impulse would be to fight him away with her magic. So there was no was it could be real, right? Maybe it was just a dream.

* * *

"I know you don't want to talk to me, but you have to listen."

Merlin continued to make whatever he was making over the fire, and Amber sighed at his lack of interest in the conversation. She kept reminding herself to keep her temper, but it was a tough thing to do when all she wanted was to punch him out right then and there.

"Can you please just tell me why you won't talk to me? I get that you're upset about Freya and all, but you can't keep shutting everyone out like this. Especially when we're expecting a battle."

Merlin looked up at her, and for a moment, she thought she saw his eyes water. But then he blinked and it was gone, and he shook his head. "I'm sorry, I am. You have to believe that I'm sorry."

"Then why won't you talk to me?" She asked him quietly, to which she only got another headshake as a response. "Alright, suit yourself. I'll be out getting water, if you decide that you don't hate me anymore, that's where I'll be."

She stood up and walked away, leaving Merlin alone until Sara approached him. "She's really upset, you know."

Merlin sighed and flipped his hair out of his face. "I know. It kills me."

"So do something about it."

Merlin shook his head again, feeling his eyes dampen slightly- again. "It's for her own good. She doesn't understand, but she will. I'm trying to push her away because her focus is on me and not the battle. Once her heads in the game I'm going to cut the connection so she's her own person, not a slave to me."

"You're going to cut her off?" Sara gasped.

Merlin nodded. "Her and Michael both. I can't have him knowing that there's two ways to kill her. I know how to do it and I'll do it, she'll be better off on her own."

"Now tell me the real reason you're pushing her away and planning to cut her off." Sara raised an eyebrow. Merlin sighed and looked over at the side of the field where Amber was sitting by the fire Merlin had made. He jumped when he heard Sara gasp beside him and turned his head to look at her, realizing that she must have pieced together his plan. "You can't be serious!"

"Dead," Merlin replied.

"It's a suicide mission!" Sara nearly screamed, and Merlin was surprised that no one else heard her.

"Do you really think that matters to me?" Merlin retorted with a roll of his eyes. "I'm going to do whatever it takes to keep her alive."

"And you think dying in her place is a better solution?" When Merlin didn't answer, Sara muttered, "You're a bloody idiot. It's never going to work." She then got to her feet and limped away. Merlin muttered a healing spell quickly, and Sara jumped, turning back to him. He nodded, and she looked completely dazed, as if she didn't believe he'd just done that. Nonetheless, she continued away from him without her limp, not even uttering a thank-you. He didn't blame her, though. He didn't deserve a thank-you.

Nobody spoke to him for the rest of the day. He began to suspect that they'd all become just as fed up as Amber with his moping, or that they'd all figured out what he was planning and reacted the same way Sara did. He didn't know or care, so he brushed it off and continued his daily work as usual.

He ended up alone for days, only speaking the bear minimum to everyone around. Occasionally the rest of them (which Brodie had nicknamed _the Resistance_ when he realized he didn't have a name to refer to them all as) heard him talking to himself, though none of them could really tell what he was saying. It wasn't until a week or so later that Sara caught the all-powerful warlock singing. _Singing._

And one day, when Amber was sitting next to him in silence, he couldn't bear to ignore her anymore.

"I'm sorry," he'd blurted.

"About what?"

"About... Treating you the way I have," Merlin sighed. "And it's also an apology in advance for whatever happens in the last battle."

Amber nodded thoughtfully, but Merlin assumed it was about the wrong things. She'd had no idea what would be coming. "In that case, I'm sorry, too."

Merlin looked down at her and she offered him a small smile. He smiled back, and his hand seemed to have a mind of it's own as it reached out and found hers. She complied and they walked through the woods hand-in-hand. It was a forgiveness that was given far too easily, they both knew, but neither of them really cared.

But the light of the mood was shortcoming and his expression went back to the same dark it had been for the last long while. "We've been here a month and a half..." He whispered.

Amber tilted her head to the side in confusion. "And?"

"Why,_ why_ hasn't Michael attacked yet?" He questioned, though it was mostly to himself.

"Maybe he's just waiting for the right moment," Amber suggested, and Merlin felt a bit frustrated at her naiveness.

"No, it's more than that," he muttered. "He's holding back for some reason."

"I don't know why we're just sitting around here waiting to be attacked. Why don't we attack them?" Amber asked.

Merlin took this into consideration. "You're right. You're absolutely right. He knows we're waiting, so he's preparing. Using our unwillingness to attack to his advantage. Maybe if we catch him off-guard, we can take him down from the inside... Amber, we have to get back to camp." He turned on his heels, dropping her hand, and ran in the opposite direction. Amber followed loyally and they made it into camp to see everyone already asleep. Merlin looked out at the tired camp and muttered to Amber without looking at her, "Get some sleep. Tomorrow, we attack."

* * *

**18.5K READS OH MY GOD THANK YOU SO SO SO MUCH ITS MORE THAN I COULD HAVE EVER WISHED FOR THANK YOU SO MUCH EQJINFEINFRIUNEI**

**current death toll: 1/**

**-freya**

**ooooooohhhhh they're gonna attack wooooow **

**this chapter is super short and suckish and a total filler i give you all permission to kill me**

**so five chapters after this one and thaaaats it :(**

**and they're all writted so they'll all be up within five days which means this fic has less than a week left im cry**

**and then THE SURPRISE YAY but im sure everyone basically already knows what it is **

**-notreallymagical**


	36. Chapter 36

**i updated twice today so dont read this one if u havent read the last one ok carry on**

* * *

They stood in a line, staring across the field at the castle just a spitting distance away.

"How do we know he doesn't have an army twenty times larger than us?" Amber asked Merlin worriedly.

"Because he's not looking to cheat, at least, not like that. He's not going to rig the battles, but he's going to rig the war. No, he's going to give us a chance until we get too close, then he's going to burn us one by one," Merlin answered.

They moved forward in unison, quickly but quietly, making it to the castle and, as quietly as they could, throwing the doors open. Morgana reached Merlin and muttered in his ear, "This is most definitely not the place I went to. It's bigger, much bigger."

She was right. The castle they stood in was even larger than Camelot's castle. It was eerily silent, and sent a chill down Merlin's spine. He blindly reached his hand toward Amber's and she clutched it tightly, as if it was the very last time it would ever happen- which it very well could be. Merlin knew more than anyone that it more than likely would be, but Amber didn't need to know that. Not yet, at least.

The realization of the situation suddenly dawned on Merlin, and he nearly slapped himself. "He's not here."

"What?" The question came from Leon, and Merlin sighed heavily.

"He's not here," he repeated. "He knew we were coming, he was ready, and he left."

"So, where is he, then?" Lancelot asked.

"Where did the last battle take place?" Merlin muttered. "He's in Camlann."

* * *

As they emerged over the top of the hill, they were all shocked to see that the numbers of Michael's army were eerily close to the numbers of their own. In fact, as Amber counted, Michael had the exact same number of fighters behind him as Amber did. He had a full army, she knew, so why didn't he bring them all? Were there more hiding in the trees, waiting for the signal to rush forward and join the battle? For some reason, she felt it was unlikely. Maybe it was because she knew Michael, and she knew his logic. He was trying to make it seem fair, meanwhile his entire troop were probably much more experienced with swords and blades than Amber's own was. Plus they were probably all better fed and rested- the "resistance" had been stranded in a field for a month and a half where they slept on the grass and ate whatever they could catch. Amber realized with a sinking feeling that this must have been Michael's plan all along- to wait until they were at their weakest point to attack. And he had the same amount of warriors as they had to humiliate them because they'd lose miserably to only a small number of people. She mentally cursed at herself for not seeing this coming and reached out for Merlin's shield, then pulled it around her body and allowed herself a bit of relief.

Merlin took a step forward, and Michael did the same.

"Came to join the party?" Michael called tauntingly, and Amber clenched her fists tightly.

"Were you expecting us?" Merlin replied coolly.

"What's it look like?" Michael laughed. "'Course we were expecting you."

"Thought it'd be polite to ask." Merlin shrugged casually. "Not like you'd know anything about that."

"Now I'll have you know that I've got plenty of manners," Michael snapped, "and why are you trying to tell me about manners when I've got a sword in my hand?"

Amber saw Merlin tense a bit but brushed it off. The bag over her shoulder weighed a lot and her arm was beginning to droop. Merlin's spellbook was a lot heavier than it looked, and she was just waiting for the right moment to hand it to him.

Merlin then turned around and walked straight to Amber, who gave him a confused look. "Promise me you won't get yourself killed today?" He grabbed her hands in his own and stated her straight in her eyes, his own blue eyes searching hers as he waited for an answer.

Amber nodded quickly. "I promise. I'll still be right next to you when this whole thing is over."

Merlin nodded back. "You'd better be," he said. He then looked out at the small number of people on their side ad asked, "Ready?"

They answered positively, and Merlin took a deep breath before tuning back to Michael.

The battle of Camlann was about to begin again.

* * *

Amber never left Merlin's side. Not once. That was the rule. That was the only rule she abided by during the battle. Never leave his side. Never.

After a while of gruesome gory fighting, and Michael's army constantly being revived from the dead (which was quite a shock the first time it happened, when she killed one of his men and he just stood back up, pulled the sword out of his stomach and kept fighting), it was a wonder they didn't all pass out. She figured that people seemed to perform better under pressure, seeing as though even Brodie, the boy who was completely incompetent with anything sharp and pointy, was actually holding his own. She began to feel hopeful, until something happened that shocked her.

When Michael's entire army disappeared into thin air, she was left slightly bewildered. She glanced at Merlin who was panting heavily, and he only gave a shrug.

"Where'd they go?" Elyan asked, looking around the clearing.

Nobody looked as if they had a clue. In the midst of all the confusion, Merlin took a head count. He seemed to be the first to realize what was wrong.

_"Lancelot!"_

The second to realize, Gwen, dropped down beside the knight's side. His chest was already still, and from a quick touch Merlin found his pulse had stopped.

Gwen was completely distraught, her usual brave face completely shattered by the loss of Lancelot, and Merlin fought down tears of his own. He hid his face from the rest of the group, though he could hear a few weak sobs coming from the direction of the knights. He thought he heard Amber choke out a son of her own, which was enough to snap him back to reality. He jumped to his feet and walked over to her, wrapping her in his arms as silent tears fell from both of their eyes.

It took a while for Gwen to calm down; Morgana had to eventually led- well, drag was a more appropriate term for it- Gwen away from Lacelot's body. Morgana's face was clearly masking pain, but she was the strongest of the lot and decided to take it upon herself to help Gwen as Merlin and Leon buried Lancelot's body.

After a little while of waiting, the two made their way back to the rest of the group. Once the awkwardness cleared- though Gwen was still sniffling in the back-, Gwaine broke the silence. "Now, where's Michael?"

"I know where he is."

Every head turned in the direction of the voice. A muddy, weak-looking body emerged from the treeline and Merlin didn't have to even look to know who it was.

Leon raised his sword and placed it over the visitor's heart, and the stranger raised his hands to show his innocence.

"I've come as a friend," the visitor declared, looking as if he were having trouble standing on his own feet.

Leon narrowed his eyes at the visitor but sheathed his sword nonetheless. "Why have you come here?" The knight could clearly tell by the visitor's accent that he was no native of Camelot, so he had a right to be suspicious.

"I already told you, I know where Michael went."

"How could you possibly betray-" Leon started, but Amber cut him off.

"Leon, he's telling the truth," she said, pushing the knight away then nodding to him their visitor. "Tegan."

The boy nodded back. "Amber."

"You two know each other?" Merlin asked, taking a step toward Amber defensively.

Amber put a hand on his chest to hold him back, and he clenched his fists but obliged. He kept his jaw locked and his fists clenched as Tegan spoke.

"I'm sorry for what happened to both of you while you were in Michael's grasp, and I hope you'll forgive me for not doing anything about it, but the guy is a maniac and if I tried to stop him he'd kill me."

"You or us," Merlin spat, and Amber smacked his arm with the back of her hand.

"Anyway, when he found out that I was the one who released Amber, he went completely ape shit, probably would have killed me if I hadn't ran," Tegan confessed.

"What do you mean, 'released Amber'?" Gwen asked him, and Merlin brushed away the shock of hearing her speak without even a shake in her voice despite being so upset no more than an hour before.

"I snuck her out of Michael's castle. He told me he'd kill me if he ever found out that I had anything to do with it, and when he did, well, you know."

Gwen nodded, but Merlin still looked suspicious. That was his strongest trait- being distrusting. It was a good trait to have because it meant you didn't fall for just anything, but it could also be a nuisance. Like right then, Amber thought. Why couldn't he see that Tegan was telling the truth?

"And why didn't he just kill you with magic?" Merlin asked, raising an eyebrow at Tegan. "He seemed to have no restraint attacking me."

Tegan smirked a bit at this. "Because he doesn't know how."

"What do you mean, he doesn't know how? He has Merlin's spellbook," Percival demanded.

Tegan shook his head. "No, he doesn't. Michael is powerful, but he's illiterate in the magic area. He can't incant spells, either. He's nothing without that spellbook, and I gave it to Amber."

The whole group's attention shifted to the blonde, and she quickly shrugged the bag off her shoulders and placed it in Merlin's hands. "Happy Hunger Games," she said.

Merlin slowly opened the bag to reveal his spellbook. For a moment, Amber thought he was going to hug it or something, but instead he muttered a spell and the lock flipped open. He began looking through the pages, not for anything in particular, he just wanted to see them again. His most prized possession was that book that he'd spent decades building up, and he couldn't bear to lose it.

"Right, then," Merlin said, closing the book and shoving it back into the bag before throwing it over his shoulder, "you said you knew where Michael was?"

Tegan nodded in response. "It's a days walk away from here."

"Or Merlin could just transport us," Elyan suggested, but Tegan shook his head.

"Michael'd sense the use of Merlin's magic and come here. For some reason he could always tell when Merlin used magic."

"Ties," Merlin muttered.

"Ties?" Tegan repeated.

"Ties. Bonds," Merlin said, louder and angrier. "God dammit!" He bellowed, turning ad slamming his fist into the nearest thing- a tree. His eyes flashed as his fist pounded the trunk and the tree fell to the ground. Merlin ignored the looks of horror he was getting from the rest of the group as he turned back to Tegan. "What's the quickest route?"

* * *

**current death toll: 2/?**

**-freya**

**-lancelot**

**alright so here's the VERY long-awaited battle scene I'm sorry it took so long to get to this point I just had to cover a LOT of things before we could get to this point and also no Tegan is not evil he never was evil he was kind of a liability u know like he never wanted to do anything bad but he didn't have a choice because Michael brought him 1500 years into the past and threatened to kill him if he didn't obey like seriously what would you do**

**and I'm really NOT good at writing battle scenes so I'm really really sorry bc this is probably the last actual battle scene you'll get but a bunch of stuff is going to happen after this and I'd also like to apologize in advance for the amount of characters I'm going to kill off I'm gonna bawl my eyes out when 99% of them die especially one of them but I won't say who it is yET**

**oh and about characters dying, michael is a little fucker and theres no more real battles but he has this thing planned and its like mind games basically so we won't know who really dies until after everything happens**

**that's about it only a few chapters left and thanks to anyone who's stuck around this long I love u!**

**-notreallymagical **


	37. Chapter 37

**ouhhh a partial Brodie-centric chapter the first little bit is all about our favorite redhead so get ready folks bc this is probably the last one centered around Brodie that we're gonna see in this lifetime oh**

* * *

"We should set up camp for the night."

Merlin's eyes never left the dirt trail. "We can't waste any time."

Sara turned her head to glare at him. "Merlin, we're all about to pass out. I can see your legs shaking."

Merlin breathed out heavily and nodded. "Fine." His eyes then flashed a familiar gold color as he stared ahead, then faded back to blue and he began walking again.

"What was that all about?" Tegan asked as he leaned closer to Sara's ear, referring to Merlin's seemingly pointless use of magic.

The blonde-haired girl only shrugged in response. "Who the hell knows?"

But, despite her angry façade, she was actually surprised that Merlin had listened to her. She'd figured out all his quirks after a while, and she knew that there was a very small number of people that he would listen to. Amber, of course, Will, Morgana, Gaius, and Brodie. And Freya, but, well...

Not even the knights had much of an effect on the warlock. Not even Gwaine, who, from what she'd heard, used to be one of Merlin's greatest and most trusted friends.

But she was not on the list. She used to be, back in modern times, but once they'd come to Camelot, he'd distanced himself from her. Now that she came to think of it, he'd distanced himself from everyone. Even the people on his trustworthy-list.

She cast a sideways glance at Brodie, who was staring at the ground as he walked. She couldn't call herself observant, but she knew something was wrong with him. And since talking to Merlin about it wasn't an option, she went to the next-best-thing later that night after they'd set up camp.

"Come to figure out what's up with Brodie?"

The sudden question made her jump, and she was about to ask how he knew when he continued, "You've been staring at him all night. Careful, though, you might get worry lines."

She sighed, sitting next to him on the fallen tree. "I figured you might know."

Percival shrugged. "He's a kid. Youngest out of all of your moderns, I'd assume. He just came out of a battle where if you stabbed a person they'd stand back up. He's probably in shock."

Sara nodded, it did make sense. "He skipped a grade. Plus he was enrolled in school a year early, so he's actually two years younger than us. He's only fourteen, I'm surprised he's doing as well as he is. Kid's a genius, though. He doesn't have many friends."

"Hmm, you seem to know a lot about him," Percival observed.

Sara shrugged. "I've known him all my life. I never particularly disliked him, but I don't think he's ever particularly liked me. Not sure why."

Percival narrowed his eyes at the redheaded boy. "He doesn't seem to trust very easily."

Sara shrugged. "He trusts Amber. And Merlin, Morgana. That small group of the four of them, they're the closest out of all of us."

"You're wrong. He doesn't trust any of them."

Sara raised an eyebrow at the knight, who began to explain. "He doesn't trust them, not yet. He considers them friends, close friends, but he doesn't trust them. I wouldn't doubt that he'd jump in front of a bullet for them, for any of us, but he does _not_ trust them."

"What-"

"Name one person you know that he fully trusts." Sara racked her brain for an answer other than the three she'd named prior, but she couldn't think of one. Percival raised an eyebrow at her before turning her attention back to Brodie. "Trust issues. More than I've ever seen. I don't think there's one person on earth that boy trusts fully." His next words came out as a whisper. "Not even himself."

It became more apparent as she watched. She noticed things about Brodie that she never had before, like the way he moved away from people when they stood next to him, or how his eyes always studied people when they spoke to him. The boy was a genius, but perhaps he was too much of a genius. He was wise beyond his years, and his words sounded as if they came from a thousand-year-old man. His mind worked too fast, took in too many possibilities of betrayal that he closed his doors, not allowing in anyone. Amber once joked that he was a robot. She didn't even realize just how deep that name went.

* * *

"This is it."

"This is the castle where we were before!"

Merlin shot a glare at Will, who gave the same look back. Amber shoved herself between the two and placed a hand on each of their chests. Merlin grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward him, still shooting daggers at Will.

"Should we go in?" Morgana asked when nobody else broke the silence.

"Tegan, do you have any idea what he's going to do when we get in there?" Brodie asked the older boy.

Tegan shrugged. "Nothing that he told me."

Merlin decided to do it fast, like ripping off a bandage. He lurched forward and threw the doors open, and stormed into the massive castle. Immediately he knew something was wrong, because the interior of the castle looked like... A massive maze.

"Michael?!" Merlin called into the castle, his voice echoing off the many walls.

As he looked back toward the group, they all seemed to be hearing something he wasn't. Except Amber, obviously. She was in the shield. He suddenly felt the protective bubble disappear and looked around frantically. Amber noticed it, too, and asked him why he took it away from her. He told her he didn't, then jumped when an all-too-familiar voice entered his mind.

_Miss me?_

Merlin was raging, he nearly screamed in anger.

_Michael?_ That was Amber's voice. All their thoughts were in each other's minds.

_Heya,_ Michael laughed darkly.

_Why have you brought us here?!_ Merlin demanded.

_Why the hell do you think? You're going to die here._

_Come out to us, you coward!_ Amber screamed at Michael, who laughed in response.

_Your... Colleagues have already received the instructions. You are to solve the maze in pairs. And, guess what, Arthur Pendragon? You're partner is everyone's favorite warlock!_

Amber's hand clutched Merlin's suddenly.

_Let's join their conversation, shall we?_ Michael laughed._ Salutations, my friends._

"Michael!" Sara yelled out loud, and everyone else seemed shocked that they really were sharing thoughts.

_Quiet, you'll wake the whole planet. Now, class, everyone find a partner._

Nobody looked as if they were going to move, to which Michael responded, _do as I say or you'll regret it._

_How?_ Elyan challenged.

A sharp intake of breath from Brodie's direction took everyone's attention, and the boy fell to the ground clutching his head. Amber called his name and dropped to her knees beside him, and Michael laughed inside her thoughts. She helped Brodie to his feet as Michael continued, _now do as I say and choose a partner. Except Merlin and Amber. I've already decided that you two will be a pair._

The group simultaneously shifted into groups of two, Sara with Tegan, Morgana with Brodie, Gwen with Elyan, Percival with Gwaine and Leon with Will. Michael then continued,_ great, now each of the pairs take a different door. There's one for each of you. Go on, I'll be waiting for the winner._

"What do you mean, the winner?!" Amber yelled, and Merlin sushed her. She shot him a glare and he gave her an I'll-explain-later look. She replied with an if-more-of-our-friends-die-because-I-didn't-stop-M ichael-it's-on-your-conscience-not-mine look.

_Whoever reaches me first,_ Michael answered. _Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor._

His last comment sent a chill down Amber's spine; she'd talked about the Hunger Games in an ironic manner with Brodie, then mentioned it when she gave Merlin his spellbook. Had Michael been watching them that whole time? She cast a sideways glance at Brodie, who had the same worried look on his face as she figured she did. And then, the doors were all open, and she reluctantly followed Merlin into the dark corridor ahead.

* * *

**current death toll: 2/?**

**-freya**

**-lance**

**ok so italics are thoughts in each others minds i think that was clear but idk**

**so the whole purpose of the maze is mind games like they were all prepared for a battle and they ended up with a maze**

**basically its just an excuse for me to get out of writing a battle scene**

**and the last few chapters are basically going to be the reason for my death because you guys are all probably going to riot outside of my house and demand i pay for my wrongs im so sorry**

**but i'll make up for it in the surprise ;-)))**

**-notreallymagical**


	38. Chapter 38

Morgana led the way through the corridor, jumping at even the slightest sound. She kept Brodie next to her the whole time- which became a bit of a problem as the walls started to slant closer together. She tried a few times to create a light, but for some reason her magic wouldn't work in the hallway.

She reached her arms out, and her hands touched the walls with both of her arms bent on a 90 degree angle. She called out for Brodie, who answered with a shaky voice, before continuing on her way. She let her hands run along the walls next to her the whole time she walked, and eventually they became less tight. She caught a small line of light on what she assumed to be the floor- though she couldn't quite tell because she'd been in blackness for so long that she was completely disoriented. As she approached it she found that it was in fact the floor, an after a bit of feeling around she realized it was a door. She grabbed Brodie (she wasn't too sure of where she grabbed Brodie, but she knew her hand was high up enough not to cause a problem) and pulled him closer to her before throwing the door open.

"Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner!"

* * *

"I can't see anything!"

"Shh, he could be listening."

"Hey, Michael, if you can hear me, you're an asshole."

"Wow, that one probably made him cry."

Amber reached a hand forward to smack Merlin on the back of his head. He didn't respond directly, though she figured he'd rolled his eyes.

Eventually she heard a crashing sound, and Merlin cursed under his breath. "What is it?" she asked.

"Not sure," he answered, and Amber heard his hands running along the object in front of him. "A staircase, I think."

He began climbing the stairs, and as Amber followed him, she realized just how hard it was to walk up an unfamiliar staircase in the pitch-black. Hell, it was even hard to walk in that level of darkness. She couldn't see anything. At all.

Eventually the ground leveled out and they were on a flat floor again. She saw a small line of light on the floor that looked similar to that at the bottom of a door, and hoped that they'd finished the maze.

Merlin opened the door, glancing around the room that looked horrifyingly similar to Amber's own quarters back in Camelot. Merlin took a few steps into the room, and as Amber was about to follow him, the door suddenly slammed closed in front of her, cutting her off from him.

"Merlin!" she screamed, pounding her fists on the bolted-shut door. The handle turned from the other side, but didn't open. She went on beating the door as a few inaudible voices sounded from inside the room. No matter how hard she strained her ears, she couldn't hear what they were saying. She hoped to God that Michael wasn't in there, and she gave the door the hardest kick she'd ever given anything in her life.

How the hell was she supposed to get in?

What was happening in there?

* * *

Merlin took a deep breath before throwing the door open. The curly-haired boy sat at a table with his hands folded on his knees. Two swords were placed on the table. One on Michael's side, and one on Merlin's side. As Merlin took a step into the room, the door slammed closed behind him. And with a glance over his shoulder, he realized that Amber was still on the other side. He heard her beating on the door, and tried to turn the doorknob to open the door, but to no avail. It was stuck.

"Took you long enough." Michael sneered.

"Where are my friends?" Merlin spat, clenching his hands into fists at his sides.

"Always have to be the hero, don't you, Merlin? Why don't you kick off your shoes and sit a spell?" Michael spoke as if he was mocking his own accent, and Merlin fought the urge to roll his eyes at the boys self-chosen ignorance.

"Why did you bring us here? Why did you split us up?" Merlin asked, trying to reach out to track where his friends were. He couldn't, though. This room must have been restricting his magic, just like the rest of the castle was.

"The room is magic-proof, Merlin. You can't attack me with magic, and I can't attack you with magic. It's a 50/50 game." Michael shrugged.

"Is this all a game to you? You're killing innocent people because of a sick, twisted game?" Merlin was appalled at the implication Michael's statement had. Mordred wasn't even this bad in his first lifetime!

"You could call it that," Michael shrugged. "And you can play, or you can walk out that door right now."

"You're not just going to let me walk out," Merlin spat. "What's the catch? What'll you do to me if I walk?"

Michael cocked an eyebrow and sneered. "Why don't you try it and find out?"

"What are you playing at, Michael?" Merlin questioned. "If you beat me and I die, you're going to die right along with me. And if I win, I'll kill you." Merlin's eyes narrowed threateningly at the boy. "You're going to die either way and you know it. I'm the reason you're alive, so why are you so keen to kill me?"

"Because if I kill you, I kill her, too," Michael laughed darkly, clearly talking about Amber, who at that moment was probably going insane trying to get into the room.

"And how are you so certain that you're going to beat me?" Merlin asked, though he was only humoring himself because he knew exactly what Michael's answer would be.

"Because this game is rigged."

"Well of course it's rigged, Michael, why else would you risk it?" Merlin spat.

Michael only shrugged. "Because it's fun."

"What's fun, killing innocent people?!"

"No, killing Arthur."

With that, Michael grabbed his sword and ran straight at Merlin. Sure enough, Merlin's magic had no effect on Michael and he was forced to snatch the sword off the table and defend himself against his attacker.

They went at it for what seemed like an eternity, Merlin holding off hopefully long enough for someone to find him and take Michael out. But the boy was a remarkable swordsman and Merlin found himself struggling against him, and before he knew it, he was lying on the floor, his sword tossed across the room and Michael's poised above his heart.

The boy's eyes flashed and Merlin's sword flew into his hand, so it was clear that he'd restored magic to the room.

Perfect, Merlin thought. As long as he was able to use his magic, he'd be able to save Arthur.

The warlock closed his eyes, bracing himself for death, and yelped in pain when the blade entered his stomach.

The world was swaying around him as he heard the door fly open- Michael probably opened it-, and opened his eyes just long enough to see Amber's horrified expression staring at him. She screamed his name, dropping to her knees beside him, and held her hand over the wound.

"Amber, don't..." Merlin murmured, drifting in and out on consciousness.

"No, you can't..." She whispered, letting a few tears slip out of the corners of her eyes which were now bright gold as she tried to use his own magic to heal him. It was no use though, because even though she was in his stupid bubble with him, he was too far gone to be able to fix.

"I'm sorry..." He began, feeling his life slowly drain away from him. He knew that he had to act quickly, cut the bond between him and Amber and Michael, but there were a few things he had to tell her first. And Michael wouldn't be going anywhere, he'd be beginning to feel dizzy, as would Amber. "Just... D- Don't... be... a prat..." he gasped in between words, hardly able to get them out.

"What do you mean? I'm going with you, Merlin," she whispered, clearly beginning to feel the physical effects of Merlin's soon-to-be death.

"No, you're not," Merlin managed a laugh.

"What do you-" Amber started, but Merlin cut her off.

"This was the plan all along, Arthur," he said to her. "I'm sorry." And, with his final, dying breath, he muttered the spell to cut the ties between himself and the Once and Future King.

* * *

**current death toll: 5/? **

**-freya**

**-lance**

**-brodie**

**-morgana**

**-merlin**

**there's only 2 more chapters left of this story :(**

**also this is where brodie and morgana and merlin all die and i hate myself for killing them buuuuuut theres a twist that you'll soon see ;-))))**

**-notreallymagical**


	39. Chapter 39

**this is my third update today make sure you read the other two! :)**

* * *

Everything after that happened in a blur.

She didn't even realize she'd stabbed Michael until his body fell to the ground in front of her. The room was swaying, and she stumbled back across the room to where Merlin was laying on the ground. She grabbed his limp hand in her shaking ones and leaned her forehead down on his. She felt a pair of hands on her shoulders pulling her away from him and began to scream and thrash as the realization of Merlin's death finally hit her.

Merlin's death.

Merlin's dead.

She was screaming and crying so hard that she didn't realize just who was holding her away from him, or where they were. She tried to calm herself down and blink away enough tears to realize that she was staring into the face of her father. And that they were in the middle of a field... One that was just a short walk away from LA.

She was sure this was some sick trick of Michael's, she wasn't really in LA. She was still in Camelot, and any second now he was going to kill her.

This sent her back into hysterics, and she started to pull away from her "father" to get back to Merlin. She saw an ambulance drive toward them and a few paramedics place Merlin's body onto a gurney, and realized that she really was in LA again. The spell must have been reversed when...

When she killed Michael.

Right after Michael killed Merlin.

Michael is dead.

Merlin is dead.

Before she knew it she was at the hospital, being examined by doctors. Or, rather, having doctors try to examine her as she screamed and cried and called out for Merlin. Nobody knew who she was talking about- there was no Merlin admitted to that hospital. She couldn't think clearly enough to realize that Merlin was Miles Wyatt, so nobody could really help her.

Eventually she figured she must have been sedated because she woke up feeling completely disoriented. She had no idea where she was, and the white walls of the room nearly blinded her.

She suddenly was overcome with memories- Merlin, Michael, Camelot. She jolted up in her seat and instantly someone was at her side. It was her father.

"What happened?" she whispered, her voice shaking.

"That's what we were hoping you could tell us," a voice that was not her dad's spoke. Her gaze shifted to the other man in the room. Doctor, obviously. She shook her head. What was she supposed to say?_ "Oh, yeah, my ex boyfriend turned evil and brought us back to a medieval kingdom and forced us into a war. I also killed him after he killed Merlin. Did I mention Miles Wyatt is actually a thousand-year-old wizard? And that I'm King Arthur reincarnated? Funny story, really."_

"You were abducted along with a few other students after school a few months ago. We've been looking for you guys since. I've been worried sick. All the families have been. I don't know what they're going to think when-"

He cut himself off, and Amber glanced at him confusedly. "Why do you mean..."

Then suddenly it hit her. She started to shake her head in denial, her whole body beginning to tremble. "Who is dead? Dad, who died?"

He avoided her gaze but clutched her hand in his. She felt like he was keeping it from her- for good reason, she was probably on the verge of a mental breakdown- but she needed to know which of her friends Michael killed and which ones he didn't.

"How's Mer- Miles?" she asked quietly.

Her father turned his attention to the TV so deliberately it infuriated Amber. She grabbed his shoulders and spun him around, forcing him to face her. "Who is dead?!"

He looked at the other man in the room, who only shrugged. Her father took a deep breath before listing off her deceased friends. The moment she heard the names, she wished she hadn't asked.

Her hands flew to her ears and she began to scream, trying to block out his voice as he told her that the majority of her friends were dead. Eventually the world slipped away again (more sedatives, obviously), and when she woke up there was nobody in her room.

Slowly she got up, pulled a few chords off her body, and began walking down the bright white hallway. She felt awkward about the fact that her arse hung out of the back of the hospital gown, but relieved that at least she was wearing underwear. Lord knows what color they were. She flagged down a doctor and asked what room Miles Wyatt was in. She was given a look of pity and told to go back to her room. Why would she get that look? All she wanted was to know where Merlin was. She wondered where Sara and Brodie were. Probably in the hospital somewhere, too.

She walked back into the hallway and approached a nurse. As she was about to ask where Sara Barkman and Brodie Thralls were, she was rudely interrupted by her father who proceeded to drag her back to her room.

"You aren't meant to leave this room," he told her sternly.

"I was just going to go see Miles- and Sara and Brodie," she muttered. An expression crossed her fathers face that she couldn't for the life of her place. "What?"

"Amber... What do you remember from yesterday?" Her father asked her slowly.

She responded with a shrug. "Screaming about something or other. Then being sedated yet again. I had a really weird dream where someone told me that..." Her voice faded as she looked at her father, and her assumptions were confirmed by the look of pain on his face.

"No..." She whispered, taking a step away from him.

"Amber-"

"No!" She screamed. "They can't be dead!"

"I'm sorry, Brodie was already dead when they found him. So were Miranda, Michael and Tegan. Miles and Sara are still alive, but they don't think Miles is going to make it another day. They're trying to get a hold of his parents right now."

Amber didn't realize her knees had given out until she was on the ground, burying her head in her hands.

They can't be dead! They just can't be!

* * *

**current death toll: **

**10/10**

**-freya**

**-lance**

**-brodie**

**-morgana**

**-merlin**

**-michael**

**-tegan**

**-will**

**-gwaine**

**-elyan**

**ok so yeah amber doesnt find out who dies until later but the earthlings who died were brodie merlin morgana michael and tegan im cry**

**one more chapter to go! :( ill try to get it up tomorrow because this is my third update TODAY wow**

**-notreallymagical**


	40. Chapter 40

As the man read off the names of the deceased, Amber buried her face in her hands. She tried to block out the his voice as he read the names, and each one sent a pang through her chest.

Michael Richards.

Tegan Morris.

Miranda Leigh.

Brodie Thralls.

Miles Wyatt.

Merlin.

_Merlin is dead._

No matter how many times she repeated it, she just couldn't bear the thought that it was true. She would try to deny it, but his body was laying right there in front of her. She couldn't deny that.

The one that hit her hardest other than Merlin was Brodie. She just couldn't believe that the happy, wise-beyond-his-years redhead was dead. She refused to believe it. She'd go back to school and sit down in History and he'd be right there in the back row, Merlin beside him, both of them laughing and talking which was something Brodie never did, especially not in class because he was always that quiet kid in the back who never disrupted class and always got the best grades in the whole class. Nobody ever noticed him, and, come to think of it, he probably liked it that way. Of course the school would be different, but it would only really be because his face had been plastered everywhere all over the country for the past two or three months. It'd be hard not to know him.

But Amber knew him better. She knew that the term genius was an understatement, and that his red hair wasn't nearly as fiery as his personality. She would never, ever stop owing him.

Then there was Morgana. The girl- her old sister- was one of the most headstrong people she'd ever met. It was sad because if she'd never been banished from the council of Avalon, she'd have gone back there. Amber didn't know what fate would come of her this time- would she go back to the council or would they hold their ban and send her off somewhere else? Would she go to heaven? Would she stay with the guardians? Morgana was being passed off as Merlin's cousin. It was quite a sad story, because both of them were dead. Their family- who was yet to be located- would be devastated. And the media would eat it up. Maybe they could pass off her and Merlin for being in witness protection or something. Amber only wanted them to know that Morgana was a true hero. As were Merlin, Brodie, and even Tegan.

Tegan Morris. She didn't know much about him, only that she owed him her life. If he hadn't risked his life to save her, Michael'd killed her for sure. She added Tegan to the list of people she'd never stop owing. Merlin was one of them, too.

After the services, she and went for a walk through the forest across the road from the graveyard, and she was overwhelmed by memories of Camelot. She knew nothing would ever be the same, and she'd probably never be able to walk through the woods alone again. She was surprised she was doing it now.

"Amber?"

She jumped when she heard someone saying her name, and turned quickly to see a familiar face.

Familiar, sure, but not one that should be there.

"Merlin?" she breathed, staring at him through narrowed eyes. "I thought you were-"

"Dead?" He finished for her with a small laugh. "I wish I wasn't."

"So do I," she whispered, her voice shaking.

"How are you doing?" he asked, taking a step towards her.

As soon as he took one step, she lost control of herself and broke down crying. "How the hell do you think I'm doing, Merlin?! Look at me, I'm a mess! I'm going through hell and nobody is here to help me through it! And I can't talk to anyone about it unless I want to get locked in an asylum! I'm going through hell, Merlin!"

He looked as if someone had just shoved a dagger through him (again), and he put his head in his hands. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Sorry for what," she screamed, "for dying!? I'm sorry about that, too, but none of us can do anything about it! It's not like you can just decide that you don't want to be dead anymore!" She was bawling now, her words hardly understandable. "I'm sorry, I let you die, I didn't stop him, I didn't get there fast enough... It's my fault you're dead."

A look crossed Merlin's face that Amber couldn't quite place. It almost looked like... Regret. What would he regret? She noticed his started to shake, and he clenched them into fists. "It's not your fault," he muttered. Then the tiniest smile formed on his lips. "I'm the one who died, after all."

Amber made a bit of a choked sound, and put her face in her hands. "Michael's dead. Brodie's dead. Hell, even Tegan's dead, and I'm still alive. Why me? Wasn't I the one who was supposed to die? Wasn't that my destiny?"

"Are you seriously upset that you didn't die? You'd think you'd be happy that, you know, you're still alive," Merlin laughed lightly.

"What's the point if you're all alone?" she blurted.

"I'm really sorry. I hope you can forgive me one day."

Amber looked up at him as a single tear rolled down his cheek. "Forgive you for what? Dying? I'm not mad at you for dying, Merlin, no matter what you might think."

"No, not for dying. I'll see you again, Amber. I promise. But until then, don't do anything too stupid, and don't be a prat."

And with that, he turned and walked away from her. Not another word. No heartfelt goodbye. Nothing. Just like that. But she knew that she'd see him again. That their goodbye was only temporary, so there was no reason to have a fit about it.

Because one day, they'd be together again.

But what she didn't know was that that day would come sooner than she'd expected.

* * *

_"I'm sorry it has to be this way. I know you want him to know the truth, but it is truly better this way. And it's only for a little while."_

_"A little while?! It's going to be _years_ before I get to see her again! And why does he have to think that I'm-"_

_"Because, the world was never supposed to know that you existed. You must hide until you are forgotten. Also, he will come looking for you, so we must make him think that you are in the one place he cannot reach you."_

_"Unless she decides that there _is_ a way she can reach me. What if this plan turns into Romeo and Juliet?"_

_"I do not expect that he would be so quick to do that. Just watch, young warlock. You must have more faith in him."_

_"Right. Okay. I'll trust you on this, but even the slightest sign of trouble with her and I'm going straight to her side, got that?"_

_"I'm afraid that's not possible. She must believe that you are deceased, for her safety. We will assign a guardian to her to keep her safe. Until then, good luck, young warlock."_

* * *

**THE END**

**THIS I THE LAST CHAPTER BUT I HAVE A HUGE SURPRISE FOR U ALL**

***DRUMROLL***

**THERE IS GOING TO BE A SEQUEL!**

**I CAN'T PART WITH BRODIE IM SORRY HES LIKE 90% OF THE REASON IM DOING A SEQUEL IT'S BC OF HIM**

**AND BECAUSE I HAVE AN INSANE IDEA BUT YES THERE IS A SEQUEL AND IT WILL ALSO BE NAMED AFTER AN ED SHEERAN SONG, THIS ONE WILL BE "WAKE ME UP" BUT IT'S NOT REALLY A SEQUEL AS MUCH AS AN EXTENDED EPILOGUE AND IM NOT MAKING AN ENTIRE NEW STORY FOR IT IM JUST GONNA PUT IT IN WITH THIS ONE YAY**

**I HOPE U ALL ENOYED IT I'LL GET THE PROLOGUE ANF FIRST CHAPTER UP AS SOON AS I CAN BUT UNTIL THEN RIP AUTUMN LEAVES**

**AND MERLIN ISN'T DEAD**

**MERLIN U LITTLE SHIT I HATE U SO MUCH (and that's one of the main issues in the sequel thing)**

**but on a happier note**

**I promised you guys a little while back that id post my fic notes that I made when I was extremely overtired at like 2am sooooo here we go!**

_**-back to camelot**_

_**-merlin amber Morgana michael brodie sara [tegan?] and the council are there yay**_

_**-council: Kilgharrah Aithusa Gwen Gwaine Percival Lancelot Elyan Leon freya will gaius (and Morgana but u know banned)**_

_**-amber is arthur but everyone there was on the council or in america so they all know who she is**_

_**-hold a meeting to discuss camelot matters**_

_**-mordred's army attacks**_

_**-repeat of the battle of camlann dammit michael why u gotta go mess up everything**_

_**-merlin gets stabbed instead of amber**_

_**-freya dies somewhere in here too idk I'll think of somethin to kill her**_

_**-merlin holds her hand as she dies (again) (I don't like freya)**_

_**-they win the battle (obviously)**_

_**-back to murica yaaaay oh and merthur is canon how many people called it probably everyone (too bad he's gonna die oh) (except he's not really dead he's just pretending bc the god damn dragon made him) (he faked his death he's in sorcerer witness protection or somethin)**_

_**-ya and somewhere in here amber and merlin fall in love and brodie kicks ass but then gets fatally wounded :( maybe he dies too idk either him or sara are dying here**_

_**-also Merlin gets tortured and shit by michael owie wow merlin u poor unfortunate soul**_

_**-oh hey this is gonna be one long war bc like they have to get there and shit and I hope it'll take a few but I can never take my time writing sigh **_

_**-and then the battle which with amber and merlin and everyone and mordred's fuckin army and shit and Merlin "dying" (which is rly gonna suck for amber wow her life is kinda really terrible) and freya dying and Sara or brodie dying and merlin getting tortured and ha ha ha well the story is gonna be long as shit god damn but when ur ready come and get it na na na**_

**I'm still laughing what is wrong with me "I'll find something to kill her" I need therapy**

**but yeah that was my guide but I wrote it in between chapters 14 and 15 so it's been sitting in my notes forever but I promised u guys I'd give it to you so here it is omg**

**Brodie :( :( :( :( u didn't listen to Taylor swift she told u to keep ur eyes open but no u didn't and now ur dead great job kid**

**oh and just to clear up any confusion Sara is still alive her and amber are literally the only modern survivors literally only 2/5 modern o/c's survived the hunger games **

**and for that one line about Amber's list of people shed never stop owing I took that from something it might have been a book but I feel like it was a fic so if you wrote that line and find this i took ur line but yeah I didn't come up with that line I just felt like it would fit there's also a warm bodies reference in this chapter if u can find it props to you**

**but yeeeeeeah im dragging this note on sorry there's just a lot of stuff I feel like covering like the Tegan subject whY DID I KILL HIM I HATE MYSELF**

**TEGAN AND BRODIE I WANT TO RESURRECT THEM BOTH OH MY GOD I HATE ME**

**rip Tegan Morris and Brodie Thralls :(**

**and rip autumn leaves!**

**ily guys thank you so so so much for reading this! I'm in the process of starting the sequel so stay tuned! :D**

**this is jenna**

**signing off**

**-notreallymagical**


	41. Wake Me Up: Prologue

_His names Mordred. You know, the one from the legends. Or maybe you don't know. I didn't. I didn't for a while. I didn't know who he was, and I didn't know who I was._

_I knew him as Michael Richards. He was my friend. Then he was more than that, and then he was nothing. He left me in the blink of an eye, and I didn't know why, until **he** showed up._

_But this story isn't about **him**. Well, not really. It's about Michael, and it's about me._

_I was born to save the world, and I did it. I saved the world you live in, but I lost the one I loved._

_I lost him. He was my world, and he died that day, right before my eyes. Gone, just like that._

_They all died. All my friends, all but one. They're all gone._

_But Michael is back. Not really, I mean, he's back, but in an odd way that you probably wouldn't understand. A way that someone who hasn't experienced what I have wouldn't be able to comprehend._

_No offense._

_This is the story of how he returned. He was born to destroy the world, and I was born to save it. We both coexist because of the third side of our triangle._

_Michael wanted the two of us dead. You see, the problem with having three people connected is that three minds is too many, and no matter how hard you try, at least one of them is always going to conflict with the others. That was Michael._

_The whole reason all this happened was because I was sent back. Ever heard of King Arthur? Well, that was me, in my last life. And then I came back as Amber, but Mordred came back, too. He was the one who ended my reign back 1500 years ago, and when I returned, he did, too. He was a consequence._

_And we were connected, the three of us. Me, Merlin and Michael. I was the concept, the reason all of this happened. Michael was the contrast, the one who went against what Merlin and I did. And Merlin was the connection, the one who joined me and Michael together. Without Merlin, me and Michael wouldn't have even been able to return._

_And that's where all the problems started._

_That's what resulted in us being brought back to Camelot, and it resulted in the deaths of Merlin and Michael._

_And now Michael's back, and I have no idea how or why. All I know is that, since everyone's gone, I have to deal with this on my own._

_This is the story of Michael Richards, and this is the story of me, Amber LeFraire._

_But I'll have you know up front: it's probably not the happiest story you've ever read._

* * *

**weeeeeeeeeeeeee hello again faithful readers**

**ive missed you all greatly (even though AL ended like yesterday lol)**

**but here is the prologue for wake me up! i hope you guys all like it i like it a lot its so much better that AL in my opinion and that makes me super duper excited**

**yaaaay i think its rather good if im not being modest**

**and michael in this story is just bguebhrilguehiul i have such high hopes i just really hope i do all your guys' expectations justice because even though it may get a bit confusing at parts i like the plot line of it so so so much**

**so yeah if you've stuck around long enough to get this far i frickin love you to death diwhfeiufhreiuaghriuahueri**

**OH while ive got you guys id like to say a quick thank you to tagicheartbreak for reviewing AL THIRTY FIVE TIMES they literally reviewed chapters one through thirty five and idk it made me smile a lot so thank you so much for that ilysm**

**but thats all i really really do hope you guys like this one!**

**-notreallymagical**


	42. WMU: Chapter 1

A lot had changed in a short amount of time.

The semester ended, as did the one after that, and before she knew it, Amber LeFraire found herself in year 12.

It was a lot of stress, knowing she would be graduating that year, and that she ran the risk of failing. Her grades in year 11 had been horrendous, and she nearly got kicked out of the prestigious boarding school. Her father, being the powerful man that he was, had managed to somehow convince the school to let her stay. She hardly passed year 11.

Aside from the fact that she was still reeling from losing all her friends- aside from Sara, the only person she had left- and suffered from nightmares every night since her return from Camelot, and she was still finding it difficult coping in the modern world without Merlin.

She hadn't seen the boy in over two years, which wasn't a very long time, but it felt like an eternity to her. She wondered why he never came to talk to her- after all, he'd done it once. The day of his funeral, when he told her she'd see him again someday (when she was dead, obviously, though Merlin had spoken to her in a riddle that still to that day frustrated her), he'd somehow come back and spoken to her one last time. He'd never said goodbye, though. She remembered each and every word he'd spoken that day, ran it over again and again in her mind, and not one goodbye had escaped his lips. She had a nagging feeling that he'd avoided the word for a reason, but she shrugged it off. She was just being paranoid.

She had Sara, somehow the girl had managed to not go insane; Amber, on the other hand, often had breakdowns over the slightest things- just the other day she started to cry because she dropped her pencil in class. Nobody paid her any mind, though. They all knew what happened; poor Amber LeFraire, emotionally traumatized after being kidnapped, locked in a tiny room for months on end, 5 of her friends dying, one person other than herself living. At least, that's what everyone thought. The 5 people dying fact was true- Merlin, Morgana, Brodie, Tegan and Michael were all dead- but they weren't kidnapped, and they certainly weren't locked up (well, Amber was, for a little while. By Michael. Merlin, too. She couldn't tell you how a sixteen year old boy- at the time- had managed to control an entire army, though). She just wished she could tell someone, anyone, what really happened. The real reason why they all disappeared. That Michael killed everyone- four of five of them, plus probably a whole lot more. She didn't know yet who from the council died in the battle, and she could only hope that when Michael died and his magic was reversed, the lives of the fallen members of the council of Avalon had been revived. Hopefully they were all sitting pretty at their table, just waiting until someone else came along with magic and they had a use again.

Occasionally she spoke to Brodie in her dreams, but the boy was always secretive with her and never gave her any information about anything. All they could really do was talk about their past, and Amber's current life. He wouldn't give her any specific details about where he was or what he was doing there, and every time she asked, he'd always jolt her awake- and it irritated her to no end that he could do that. Damn kid. She'd never seen Brodie Thralls be as secretive as he was after his death. He seemed miserable, he seemed depressed. And nothing she said to him would cheer him up. She'd trade places with him any day, sacrifice her life for his to be returned to him. He deserved it more than she did, after all.

She'd do the same for Merlin. And Morgana, and Tegan. Hell, she'd do it for anyone up there. Except maybe Michael.

Michael Richards, the reincarnation of Mordred, the one who caused all this. The one who killed her friends for no reason except the fact that he believed it was his destiny to kill her, and decided to do it in the most twisted, ironic way possible; by bringing her and everyone else involved in his damn web back to Camelot and hosting a massive battle where the odds were completely against her. She managed to pull it off, though, but not before the majority of her friends died.

Damn you, Michael Richards. I'll never forgive this, her mind muttered, and she half-expected Michael's southern voice to chime in with some irritating remark, because he seemed to enjoy doing that. Even when he was dead he still somehow found ways into her thoughts. Every test she'd written in year 11 had been passed because the damn kid kept butting in and correcting her incorrect answers. He ended up being the inevitable reason she passed year eleven, but she did send him a nice, _when are they gonna put you back in your box for another thousand years?_ That shut him up.

Actually, the only deceased person who didn't talk to her- apart from the council and Morgana- was Merlin. She wondered, if everyone else could talk to him, why couldn't he? Even Tegan spoke to her occasionally, why wouldn't Merlin?

She also wondered if they all spoke to Sara like they spoke to her. For some reason she deemed it unlikely, she had a nagging feeling that they could only talk to her, being the reincarnation of King Arthur or something like that. But then how did Brodie talk to her? He had no ties to her. Unless he was in Avalon... Maybe he was on the council, maybe he was a guardian.

Whatever the case, Brodie spoke to her in dreams and Michael spoke to her in her mind at usually inconvenient times of the day. Whatever reason they had to go on talking to her after their lives had ended was a mystery to Amber, and one that she was determined to solve.

* * *

**ok so this is the first chapter of wake me up which is the sequel to autumn leaves this story im just warning you is probably going to make zero sense like its going to be even worse than autumn leaves so if you last through the whole thing i think u need some kind of national award like**

**idk i hope you guys enjoy it because we get a LOT of Michael in this story and i absolutely love him and how many of you guys hate him because I highly doubt your feelings will stay the same by the end**

**-notreallymagical**


	43. WMU: Chapter 2

"Merlin?"

The warlock looked up as his name was called. "Morgana," he nodded to her, and went back to his writing.

"Michael wants to see you," she informed him with a nervous smile. Merlin sighed heavily, setting down the pen in his hand and standing up.

"I don't want to talk to him, he knows that," he muttered, following Morgana outside and to where the portal had dropped her off. They walked through it together and down the halls of the council's castle to where Michael was. Merlin didn't even bother to knock on the boy's door, he'd done this enough times to know that the boy wouldn't answer. He walked to the bed where Michael was lying, doing lord-knows-what in that crazy, messed-up head of his.

"Your girlfriend's doing fine, because I know that's the first thing you're going to ask," Michael stated without even looking up to see who was in his room.

"I wasn't gonna ask that," Merlin muttered.

Michael sat up and stared at him for a second, and Merlin could almost feel the boy scanning his thoughts. "Mmm, yeah you were," Michael said, and Merlin rolled his eyes.

"What's this all about, Michael?" Merlin sighed, feeling exasperated at being required to come see the boy whenever he saw fit. He wasn't complaining, at least it gave him something to do in his lifeless reality, but couldn't he have struck a bargain with someone that_ wasn't_ Michael Richards? But, the boy was the only communication line he had to Amber, so Merlin sucked it up. Michael wasn't horrible when he _wasn't_ trying to kill him. "I saw you just last week, you never call me here more than once a month."

"Yeah, I have a little favor to ask of you," Michael said, getting to his feet to stand beside a (significantly) shorter Merlin.

"Not a ch-"

"Now, before you say no, I think you really should hear me out," Michael cut off Merlin with a smirk.

Merlin crossed his arms in response. "I'm listening."

* * *

"You _can't_ be serious, Merlin!"

The warlock ducked just in time to dodge a plate flying at his head.

"I _am_ serious!" Another plate flew across the room at him and he sent it flying away without even batting an eye. Morgana really did need to keep on her magic studies, she was getting quite lazy.

"You want to send him back to earth?! Are you mad?! Do you not remember what happened last time?" The girl shrieked, and Merlin braced himself to dodge some other flying object that never came.

"Of course I do, it's the reason we're in this mess! And now," he whispered, grabbing Morgana's hands and looking her straight in the eyes. "We have a chance to redo it."

Morgana narrowed her eyes and began to scan Merlin's face. "He's brainwashed you," she whispered.

"Morgana-" Merlin began, running a hand though his too-long black hair and sighing.

"Why the bloody_ hell_ would you want to redo it?! In case you haven't noticed, Merlin, we're all _DEAD_!"

"And you won't be anymore, if you can convince Kilgharrah to send him back!"

"Why can't you do it? I'm not even on the council, I'm just a guardian! I'm pretty sure if i went in there, he'd burn my ass!" Morgana yelled at Merlin, her face beginning to change into a bright red color.

"You have more influence on him than I do, you're at least supposed to be here. The only reason I'm here is because of Michael!"

"You're the one who accepted his deal! Both the dragons are pissed off at you for keeping him out of prison, but Aithusa at least sees your side of the story. She doesn't agree with it, mind you, but she understands. Kilgharrah, not so much."

"That's why I need you to talk to them," Merlin sighed.

"You want me to talk to them? Fine, but don't get your hopes up. I don't plan on making a very convincing argument," Morgana spat as she crossed her arms.

"Thank you, thank you!" Merlin beamed, giving her a quick hug before turning back to the portal. "Come see me and tell me what they said!"

* * *

Amber scrunched her nose as she read the question.

Did we even learn this?

She racked her mind for the right answer, and when nothing came up, she let out a heavy sigh.

_The square root of 144._

She clenched her jaw as the voice invaded her mind_. What do you want, Michael?_

_Nothing, just trying to help. The square root of 144, what is it?_

_Twelve, now piss off._

_Twelve, and twelve over twenty-four is...?_

_A half, would you get out?!_

_Okay, so a half plus a quarter is...?_

_Michael, go away!_

_A half plus a quarter is three quarters. Come on, Amber, this is ninth grade math._

_And I would be able to do it if you would just get out of my mind!_

Michael didn't say anything more, but she could feel his presence still lingering in her mind. It was frustrating beyond belief, and she just couldn't bring herself to believe that he was genuinely trying to help. He was only doing this for his own gain, but _why?_

_Can't I just be a good guy?_

_Michael, you killed a _lot_ of people. Why don't you think about that for a second?_

She could tell she'd upset him, and was about to say something when he left her alone again. She heaved a sigh and went back to her test, wishing that he hadn't left because she knew absolutely nothing on it.

After the bell rang, she walked up to her locker and had just finished dialing the combination when someone walked up to her. She turned around to see that it was Ben, Brodie's cousin. Why was Ben talking to her?

"Feldman asked me to talk to you," Ben said as he leaned against the lockers next to Amber's. _Well, that explains it._

"About?" Amber inquired, fishing out her English book from the bottom of her messy locker.

"Your grades."

She slammed her locker shut and raised an eyebrow at him. "What about my grades?"

"That you're almost failing."

She rolled her eyes with a sigh. "Who cares? We've only got a little while of school left, anyway. And isn't that a private thing? Is he even allowed to tell other students about my grades?"

"I doubt it, but it's Feldman, do you really think he cares about the rules? He asked me to ask you if you were interested in a tutor."

"Not entirely, but I'm getting the impression that i don't exactly have a say in the matter," Amber raised an eyebrow at him and shifted her weight to her right leg.

Ben smirked at her, and for a moment it reminder her of Brodie. "Smart girl," he laughed.

"Haven't heard that it a while," she muttered as she began to walk with him down the hall.

"Why, because of what happened last year?" Well, he certainly didn't hold back his thoughts. Nobody had talked to her about the incident in forever. She figured they all thought it was too painful for her to talk about, but with Michael constantly in her mind and Brodie constantly in her dreams, she'd learned to deal with it.

"Eh, partially. Can't concentrate too well," she explained, pointing at her head. "Focus issues."

"Or PTSD," Ben suggested.

"Doubt it. I think I got through the PTSD stage a long time ago, it's more the aftermath."

He shrugged and she followed him into her next class, which she also had with him. She had 3 of 4 classes with him that semester, which she never really thought about. He was just always there, on the other side of the room, but still there. Sort of like Brodie used to be.

She really needed to stop comparing Ben to Brodie. It wasn't really her fault, though. They _were_ cousins, they had the exact same gray eyes, like, _exact _same, and their personalities were alike, too. Except for the fact that Ben didn't hate her.

She sat in her desk and waited in silence for Sara to arrive. When she finally did, she looked as though she were about to burst about something.

"What's got you all hyped up?" Amber asked as she began to doodle on her page.

"Nothing," Sara whispered, but her expression said otherwise.

Amber spent the rest of the class wondering about what it was that Sara was keeping from her, but she couldn't think of anything aside from Jeremy Penner finally asking her out, which seemed unlikely as Jeremy Penner had a girlfriend.

As soon as the bell rang, Sara rushed out of the class in an obvious attempt to avoid Amber, which didn't work because the taller girl sped up to keep pace with her. "What's up with you?"

"Nothing, i already told you," Sara answered.

"You're hiding something, i can tell. What is it?"

"Nothing!" Sara snapped, taking Amber aback slightly. Sara never snapped.

Amber awkwardly cleared her throat. "Right, then. Never mind."

"Sorry, I've just been... Busy," Sara apologized awkwardly as she stopped at her locker. "Cheer stuff."

Amber nodded in fake understanding. She hadn't joined cheerleading that year, so she didn't know what was going on except what Sara told her. She knew that Sara had been promoted to head flyer, and that cheerleading took up most of her friend's time. And since Sara was the only person who really spoke to Amber, and since Sara spent most of her time doing cheer-related things, Amber spent most of her time alone.

She was never truly alone, though. She had Michael (who she'd rather be alone than with), but it wasn't much to only be able to talk to someone through your thoughts.

_I think it's pretty cool._

_Do you have somewhere to be?!_

_Nope, I'm on house arrest._

_Likewise. Go pester someone else. Try talking to Sara, I'm sure she'd love to have some in-depth conversations about what it's like to be dead._

_I'm only as dead as you want me to be, Amber._

_What's that supposed to mean?_

But Michael had already left her thoughts. She resisted the urge to groan in annoyance as she sat in her seat on the bus and plugged her headphones into her phone.

Dammit, Merlin, why did you have to go and get yourself killed?!

* * *

**OH MY GOD THIS STORY HAS 20.7K READS IM CRYING SO HARD THANK YOU ALL ITS WAY MORE THAN I EVER COULD HAVE WISHED FOR ORGRGRSGTRHYTHYTS IM SO HAPPY ILY GUYS SO MUCH**

**idk what to say about this it makes no sense and it's all over the place and i just wanna scream "YOU IDIOT MERLIN ISN'T DEAD"**

**but there's gonna be some cool stuff coming up soon with a lot of o/c merlin and michael so be prepared for that**

**im also working on a tumblr au for ao3 so i'll put that in here somewhere when i finish it just keep an eye out for it**

**but other than that i have nothing left to say so bye**

**-notreallymagical **


	44. WMU: Chapter 3

"Have you thought about my request?"

"We have."

"And?"

"We do not think it would be in our bet interest to-"

Merlin rolled his eyes. "Oh, come_ on!_ He's been locked in his room for two years! Really, he's resorted to bursting into _my_ thoughts now!"

"It is not in our power to restrain his magical abilities-" Kilgharrah began, and again, Merlin cut him off.

"At least on Earth, I can keep an eye on him. I'll watch him, I promise," Merlin begged.

"Why are so so intent on having the druid boy sent back again, young warlock? He betrayed Arthur in his past life and murdered him, and he nearly killed you," Kilgharrah said matter-of-factly.

"But he didn't kill me. _Please,_ Kilgharrah."

"He wants to send Mordred back so that he can see Arthur again. He's in love, can't you see?" Aithusa chimed, and Merlin threw her a thankful smile.

"Young warlock, you do not understand the consequences of what will happen if we abide by this request," Kilgharrah started.

"I don't care about the consequences! What's the worst that's going to happen, he's gonna bring us to Camelot again? That's over and done with, and he's really changed. He got a lot of his anger out before, and when Amber killed him, I think he realized he wasn't going to beat her," Merlin stated.

"That is not the point I am trying to get across, Merlin," Kilgharrah sighed.

"No, you're trying to tell me he's gonna screw us all over if I bring him back. And I'm trying to tell you that he won't."

"That's not what I'm trying to say, either."

Merlin sighed heavily and narrowed his eyes at Kilgharrah. "You may be the head of the council of Avalon, but I am still your dragonlord. And you will do this or I will make you."

"You are not my dragonlord anymore, Merlin," Kilgharrah said, "and I will not abide by this request as the consequences will be too great for even you to handle."

Merlin glared up at him, his breathing quickening as his rage built. He turned on his heels and stormed out of the dragon's cave.

He would bring Michael back, he was determined.

* * *

Merlin sat cross-legged on the floor of the old, dreary cabin. His books were all scattered around the floor, thrown everywhere. The floor wasn't even visible through the amount of loose papers on it and he was pretty sure he'd end up sleeping on a pile of books that night. But he was determined to find the spell.

The door opened behind him and his eyes flashed the color gold as he closed it behind his visitor; she never closed his door, and it was irritating.

"Want some more books?" She asked sarcastically as she walked towards him. The papers swished as she walked through them and the sound nearly made Merlin scream with agitation as it broke his line of concentration. "I've got a bunch back in Avalon."

"Shh," Merlin shushed her as she made it over to him. He flipped another page and began to read through it.

"I really don't think this is a good idea, Merlin," she told him as she lowered herself to sit next to him.

"Piss off, then," he remarked. He'd been in a remarkably bad mood since Kilgharrah had refused to help him, and he'd spent the past four days on the floor of his cabin searching through what seemed like thousands of spellbooks. He refused to give up. If Kilgharrah wouldn't help him, he'd do it himself.

"I know you're upset about this, but, Merlin, you know what he's like. You know just how easily he turned against Arthur the first time," Morgana tried to reason with him. Merlin would have none of it, though. He looked up at her and narrowed his eyes.

"He turned against Arthur because Arthur killed the love of his life. I think I'd be pretty mad, too, if-" he cut himself off and made a choked sound, his throat tightening unexpectedly. He was suddenly washed over with memories of Arthur's death, and turned back to the stack of books on the floor and began vigorously searching through them, determined not to let Morgana see the tears spilling out of his eyes. He sniffed a few times and a few tears fell onto the pages of the books. Morgana knelt down beside him and put an arm over his shoulders, and he allowed himself to sob into her neck. "I'd go a bit insane if someone took Amber away from me."

"I know that, you did go a bit insane when Arthur died, and when you had to leave her behind to stay here," Morgana chuckled lightly, running her hand along his back. Of course she remembered, she'd been his guardian since the day she died.

He didn't want to remember his first months of being at the dingy cabin. Morgana had stayed with him as much as she could to keep him from completely losing it, and, her being his guardian, it was technically allowed. "I'm telling you, Merlin, it's a bad idea. If you really don't want to lose Amber, you wouldn't do this."

"But I have to, Morgana. I have to if... If i want to see her again," he whispered. Even though that was one one thing he was hoping for, it wasn't even half the reason he was helping Michael.

"Or you could wait," Morgana replied.

"To hell with waiting!" Merlin exclaimed, suddenly on his feet in a fit of rage. "I've been waiting for years, I think it's been long enough! I only had him back for, what, half a year?!"

Morgana blinked in shock at his reaction before standing up, too. "I know how you feel, Merlin, I do. But I know him better than anyone, and I know what he will do."

"You'll be coming back, too, Morgana. And Brodie and Tegan. I think with the four of us plus Amber and Sara, it's highly unlikely that he'll be out of our sight long enough to do anything. It's my only chance to see her again, I don't really have a choice," he whispered as his eyes began to water. He missed Amber, sure, but all Michael had to do was tell Morgana his story for her to believe him. But for some reason, the boy refused to tell anyone but Merlin.

Morgana sighed, shaking her head. "If this plan blows up in your face, don't say I didn't warn you."

Hopefulness began to overtake the sadness and longing, and Merlin looked up at Morgana with pure joy in his eyes. "Does that mean you'll help?"

Morgana sighed again before nodding. "I'm going to hate myself for it, but yes."

* * *

Amber sat in her bedroom alone. Her dad was at work, so she had the house to herself. She spent most of her time in her room, thinking. She didn't have anything else to do- nobody would talk to her. Well, nobody except Michael. As a matter of fact, he was talking to her then.

_D'you think I'll reincarnate again?_

_I don't know. Maybe._

_Do you think you will?_

_I don't know, Michael._

_Do you want to?_

_Probably not. I mean, I don't have any reason to. It's not like I'll have Merlin waiting for me._

_Amber-_

_He waited for me for so damn long, he died for me. Which is your fault, of course, but if I don't have him to come back to, what's the point of even coming back?_

_A reason to live._

_That's backwards._

_How?_

_You come back for a reason to live. Doesn't make much sense._

_Does to me._

_Yes, but you're an idiot._

_I try._

_Seriously, Michael. Do you talk to him? Ever?_

_Occasionally._

_Why doesn't he talk to me like you do?_

_He... Can't._

_Why not?_

_It's not in my power to say..._

_Oh, like you care. What's the worst that's gonna happen?_

_They'll lock me up._

_Aren't you locked up now?_

_No, I mean, put me back in that freezer for however long, you know what I'm talking about, you were there, too. Would you want to be there again?_

_Well, no-_

_Exactly. He can't, just leave it at that. He has his reasons, and you'll see why soon enough. But I won't be the one to tell you._

_You suck, Richards._

_I try. Anyway, I've gotta go. Duty calls._

_Later, Michael._

_Amber._

And he was gone.

She sighed, getting to her feet and walking out of her room. She sluggishly trudged down the stairs and into the kitchen, then threw the fridge door open and began to search for food.

_Amber..._

_I thought you left, Michael, _she replied bitterly_. I'm hungry, leave me alone._

_Amber, turn around._

_Why-_

As she turned, she was shocked to see the face looking back at her.

"The hell are you doing here?!" She yelled, backing toward that fridge.

"Surprised to see me?"

"How... How did you-"

"Don't even finish that question, Amber, you'll look even dumber than usual."

"What are you doing here?! You're not... What?!"

"You're forgetting that I have magic, Amber. I can do more than you could ever fathom, even when I'm dead. It's quite fun, actually."

"Dammit, Michael, my dad is going to pass out if he comes here and sees a dead person walking!" She cursed, taking a step toward him. He backed away, nearly mirroring her as if he was expecting it.

"It's kinda funny how your main concern is how your dad is going to react rather than the fact that there's a dead guy in your house," Michael said with a laugh. He walked into her living room, still standing. She had to take note, despite the situation, of how completely heavenly he looked. It wasn't something she should have been thinking about, mostly because of the fact she'd murdered him, but it was true. He looked like he just stepped out of a fairy-tale. His hair was perfect, his eyes were bright, his teeth were gleaming white and his skin was glowing. Michael was glowing.

He was radiant. Like an angel. She knew she shouldn't be thinking it, but he was. She couldn't pick out a single flaw. To be honest, she half expected him to spout wings and a halo and start playing a harp.

She tried to ignore the odd look Michael was giving her as if he knew exactly what she was thinking of, and noticed he seemed to be- "Keeping my distance from you?" He asked, cutting off her thought process. Had he just read her thoughts?! "Yup. It's something I've been working on, really not as hard as it looks. It's just that, when I'm up there, I can't hear anyone down here. But I can hear yours now, and you're thinking about Merlin. Funny, that's about the case with him, too. I am an angel, by the way. Literally. It's a perk of being dead. Anyway, to answer your previous question," he started, not even pausing between sentences. That was one thing about Michael, he liked to talk, "I'm keeping my distance from you because if you touch me I'll get sent back up there, and it takes a hell of a lot of time to put together everything it takes to be able to come down here. So don't touch me. Anyway, you wanted to say something?" She stared at him in awe, and he rolled his eyes. "Merlin hasn't come because he can't, we've been over this. He has his reasons and i have strict instructions- from him, mind you, the council doesn't even know I'm down here and if they did they'd fry my ass- not to reveal what they are to you, and since he's the main reason I'm not locked up in a freezer, I'm not about to piss him off. Still evil, yes, to a degree. As evil as I can be without risking harsher confinement than I'm in right now. I'm not even supposed to have left my room, and, being locked in there for two years straight, this is amazing!"

She watched as he looked around her house in amazement, slightly resembling a curious five-year-old child.

"Hey, how 'bout I lock you in a room for two years and see how you react when you get out?" He shot over his shoulder, looking at all the pictures on the window-frame.

"Would you stop that?!" She yelled, though she didn't know why it put her off so much. Sure, Michael pissed her off daily with his butting into her thoughts, which still qualified as reading them, but he could only ever see through her eyes and hear her thoughts that were aimed directly at him. Now he was hearing all of them, and it was _horrible._

"I can turn it off if you'd like," he offered, standing up to look at her.

"Please," she muttered, crossing her arms at him. His eyes flashed- just like Merlin's did when he used magic- and Amber felt a sense of relief as Michael left her thoughts alone. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it, your thoughts are annoying. Almost as bad as Merlin's," Michael scoffed, beginning to rummage through her things again.

"Wait, so, if you're a ghost- sorry, angel-, how can you, like... Touch things?" Amber asked, taking a step towards the boy who's life she'd ended. He didn't seem to be holding much of a grudge about it, which might have been a relief if it wasn't Michael- Michael who'd killed Merlin, Brodie, Morgana and Tegan, Michael who'd been ruthless in his attempt to kill her, Michael who had to die before he realized the extent of what he'd done.

And then it hit her that Michael being an angel was possibly the most ironic thing she'd ever heard. _Ever._

"You need to stop watching so much cartoons," Michael told her, grabbing a Rubik's cube and beginning to solve it.

They stood in silence for a minute or so until the door handle began to move.

"You need to get out of here," Amber said to Michael quickly.

"Can't I just-" he began to argue, and she took a threatening step toward him as if to say you leave or I'll make you leave. He put his hands up defensively, then laughed. "As you wish, my lord," he said mockingly with a bow. He then threw the Rubik's cube to her, and in the blink of an eye, he was gone. The front door opened and her father walked in, dropping his bags by the door.

"What's up, Amber? Y'look like you've seen a ghost," he commented as he shrugged of his jacket.

She made an absentminded sound as she stared at the place where Michael'd disappeared.

"I didn't know you played with Rubik's cubes," her dad said as he walked over to her.

"I don't-" she started, but cut herself off as she looked down at the solved block in her hand.

* * *

**so that's a bit of representation there with the Rubik's cube just in case it seemed like a weird place to end a chapter it was michael's way of basically slapping amber in the face and saying "im smarter than you and I know things you don't" because his master plan killed off 99% of the council and like most of her friends which is him being smarter than her and how he knows why Merlin won't talk to her but won't tell her (Merlin really won't let him but he's just rubbing it in her face) but he's doing all this subtly like in case u haven't realized already, he's throwing all this background stuff into his plot and making amber and Merlin both trust him fully and it's totally working and im in love with him because he's a genius**

**jenna+michael forever 33333**

**hehe anyway that's the gist of what's happening here is that michael is plotting and merlin and amber are lovesick fools who just want to see each other again and all this is gonna go to shit (but michael isn't like 100% evil he's changed but not to an extent where he's not plotting and covering all his bases- but covering his bases is about all hes doing) and oh spoiler alert michael isn't even the main complication of this story ooooooooooooh dun dun duuuuuuuuuuuun**

**-notreallymagical **


	45. WMU: Chapter 4

"Sara, wait!"

Amber ran after her friend, determined to find out the reason she'd been avoiding her, because it was really quite shitty when the only friend you had refused to look you in the eye.

She caught up to Sara, who took out her phone and began typing vigorously. Amber waited for a moment, deciding on how to say it, before she blurted "Why are you avoiding me?" Sara didn't look up at her, but Amber caught the guilty look that crossed her face. And Amber knew it as Sara's I've-got-a-secret-and-I-can't-tell-you-I'm-really- really-really-really-sorry face. "What is it, Sara? You can tell me."

Sara shook her head, shoving her phone back into her pocket and beginning to walk away. "My mom's here, I've gotta go," she muttered as she walked away from Amber.

The taller girl was left staring at where her friend had left when she heard footsteps walking toward her.

"Do you need a ride?"

She turned around to see Ben standing behind her, a set of keys in his hands and she remembered that his birthday was in January and he was already allowed to drive (during daylight hours only, but it still beat walking). She shook her head, brushing past him. "Are you sure?" He called after her.

She turned around, waving to him and replying, "I could use the exercise, thanks, though!"

Ben nodded, walking the opposite way down the sidewalk. Amber plugged her headphones into her phone and hit the shuffle button, and it brought her to the song Long Live. It reminded her of Merlin.

Everything reminded her of Merlin.

She had a single fabricated memory of him, one oversized sweater that was in his old dorm. The room had been cleared out, though nobody occupied it because, really, who would want a room that used to belong to two people who are dead now? She was sure that Cameron had switched rooms, too, because Brodie had died and Cam probably wasn't able to take it. She didn't blame him.

But she had one of Merlin's old hoodies, in all it's worn-out, ripped-up glory. She liked it because it reminded her of him, of his complete and utter lack of judgement on what is appropriate in the modern world. He'd lived through so many generations, and he was still living in the past. He didn't know how to work a phone until Sara taught him, he didn't even own a laptop.

Plus, the sweater was the same blue as his eyes and no matter how long she'd had it, it still had his scent on it. It was so big and so destroyed and just so Merlin that she didn't know what she would do without it. Because it was Merlin. It was all she had.

Other than Michael, of course.

_You called?_

_Speak of the devil._

_That's offensive._

_Good. By the way, do you have any idea at all of why Sara won't talk to me?_

_Oh, um... Not a clue._

_You're a horrible liar, Michael. Why is it? Did I do something to her?_

_No, it's not that. She'll tell you soon enough, just be patient._

_But-_

And he was gone.

Of course the one time she actually wanted him there, he left. Even dead people were avoiding her.

Awesome.

* * *

"I've found it!"

Merlin jumped to his feet, scattering a large number of papers in the process, and rushed toward the door.

"Morgana!" He called, reading over the spell with a smile on his face that was larger than he'd had in a very long time.

The girl appeared a moment or so later, obviously having been in a half-world and waiting for him to call. He wondered why she didn't just sit on earth with him, but he didn't feel like asking.

"I've got it, Morgana. Look, I can do it," he breathed as he handed her the paper that he'd been looking for for nearly a month.

"Wow, that's..." She started, but didn't finish her sentence.

"You still don't want me to do it," Merlin sighed, saying it rather than asking it because it was a fact.

"You know that I don't want you to. I don't trust him, Merlin."

"I don't care if you don't trust him, nothing you say is going to change my mind. Please, I need your help. I can't do this alone, I'm not powerful enough," he begged. Morgana opened her mouth to begin to argue, but Merlin cut her off before she could. "Shh, did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"That... There was footsteps outside. You're the only one who ever comes here..." He whispered, beginning to tiptoe over to the door.

"Lost hiker?" Morgana suggested.

"How many hikers come to this area? I've lived here for two years and nobody's ever come here."

"Go check, then," she said with a roll of her eyes.

Merlin opened the door and walked outside, looking around for the source of the footsteps. If it was an animal, he'd probably just kill it, but if it was a person, he didn't know what he'd do. If it was a person with television, there was almost a guarantee that they'd recognize him. And that just wouldn't do, because he was supposed to be dead.

"Miss me?" a voice whispered in his ear, making him jump. He felt magic surge through him and spun around to face his attacker- who wasn't even affected by Merlin's magic.

"The hell are you doing here?!" He demanded, his eyes growing wide at the sight of his visitor.

"It's a cool trick i taught myself. Looks like you're not the only all-powerful sorcerer who can control life and death."

"You... You're alive?!"

"No, just visiting. I'll say, though, your reaction is a lot more entertaining than your girlfriend's. She was so chill about it, didn't make for much of a show. Oh, and you can't touch me because it'll send me back up there. Wow, I love it here! It's so... Picturesque! D'you have a lake?!"

"How did you get here?!" Merlin yelled, ignoring all of what his visitor had just said.

"Magic. Thank god they didn't have the brains to magic-proof my room, I'd probably go insane. Can't leave, but there's lots to do otherwise. But I guess you know as much."

"What's all the yelling-" Morgana said as she walked outside, then stopped dead in her tracks as she saw who was standing with Merlin. _"Michael?!"_

"Look, the whole crew's here! My best bud and my messenger! Let's get the party started!" Michael beamed, and with a snap of his fingers, music began playing from the large rock leaning against the wall of Merlin's cabin.

_I'm coming up so you'd better get the party started-_

Merlin rolled his eyes, using his own magic to stop the music before glaring at Michael. "You can't be here."

"Why not?" The boy pouted.

"If you get caught it'll ruin everything!" Merlin groaned. "Go back, now."

"I won't get caught. I didn't get caught last time. Nobody ever checks on me except you, in all honesty i think they all kinda forgot I'm still up there."

"That's not the point, Michael! If you get caught, they'll lock you up again," Merlin sighed.

"That's not the reason you're afraid," Michael rolled his eyes.

"I'm-"

"I can read your thoughts, Merlin, or did you forget? You're afraid that I'll get caught and locked up and it'll ruin your plan to see your girlfriend again," he scoffed.

"She's not my girlfriend," Merlin muttered while avoiding Michael's gaze.

"He's trying to help you, Michael, show a bit of appreciation," Morgana scolded.

Michael narrowed his eyes in the girl's direction accusingly. "You don't trust me."

Morgana only shrugged. "I have no reason to."

"Yes, you do! I was the one who killed Arthur way back when, and I did it for you," Michael pointed out, which resulted in a sigh from Morgana.

"No, that wasn't for me, that was for revenge. Arthur killed Kara and you got pissed off so you came to me to help you get back at him. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth," Morgana said, and Merlin remembered the last statement clearly- it was what the old woman had said after her son had been executed during his first day at Camelot. He was surprised Morgana remembered it, but of course Merlin did. That was the day he met Arthur.

He pulled himself away from his thoughts and looked back at Michael, who's eyes were now narrowed at Merlin, but not accusingly. He seemed to be... Studying the warlock.

Merlin could practically feel the boy scanning his thoughts, and used his own magic to fight back against the Michael's. Michael glared at him when he was forced out of his thoughts, and Merlin smirked. "You seem to be forgetting that I'm the most powerful sorcerer to ever walk the earth," he said to Michael, who scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"He's right, Michael," Morgana smirked while pointing her thumb in Merlin's direction. "He's the best."

"I don't know why it's such a big deal, there's only one sorcerer on earth and three remaining in existence, not that hard to beat the rest when you've only got three people competing," Michael muttered, talking about Merlin, Morgana and himself.

"There's got to be more than that," Merlin insisted.

"There is. Gaius was a sorcerer, but he doesn't practice magic anymore," Morgana informed them. "I mean, he would have been on the council, but..." She dropped her sentence with a glare at Michael and Merlin felt a pang of regret at the knowledge of his old friend being murdered.

"Speaking of the council, what happened to the ones who... Didn't survive?" Merlin inquired carefully.

A look of pain and regret crossed Morgana's face. "They're... Not on the council anymore."

Merlin nodded, feeling a pit of sadness in his stomach. "And who remains on the council?"

"Kilgharrah, Aithusa, Gwen, Gwaine, and Percival."

Merlin listened to the list of names, running over in his mind the people who weren't on it.

Leon, Elyan, Lancelot, Gaius, Freya, Will, all gone.

"Do you know where they are?" Merlin whispered, and Morgana shook her head.

"We've no idea. Probably to where the mortals go when they die, wherever that is," Morgana sighed.

"And Brodie?" Merlin asked, and the edges of Morgana's lips began to pull up.

"Yeah, he's up there. He's somehow managed to get them to allow him to stay there even though he has no magical ability and isn't on the council."

Merlin felt himself smile a bit at this before turning his attention back to Michael. He'd finish his conversation with Morgana later, for now he had to deal with the Druid. "You seriously need to leave," Merlin said to him.

"Why can't I stay just for a little while?" Michael whined, drooping his shoulders like a five year old boy.

"Leave or I'll send you back myself," Merlin threatened. "You said if i touch you, you'll get sent back. Would you like to test that theory?"

"It's not a theory, it's-" Michael began, but slammed his jaw closed as he realized it would be a mistake to finish that sentence.

"Go back," Merlin said sternly, and Michael sighed heavily before obliging.

As soon as he was gone, Merlin turned his attention back to Morgana. "So, the council. How's that working with over half of it's members gone? And didn't Michael kill you during Camlann? How're you still here?"

Morgana shrugged at the question. "I guess I'm different. I'm a guardian and a high priestess, maybe that's got something to do with it. I don't know and I don't care, I'm still here and that's good enough for me."

"And Brodie, how'd he manage to get a room in the council's castle?"

Again, Morgana shrugged. "I know about as much as you do. They haven't revoked my ban from the council, but at least they're letting me back as a guardian. I don't know anything about what they're doing. Why don't you ask someone who's on the council?"

"Because I'm not supposed to be up there unless the issue involves Michael," Merlin sighed. "This is all so confusing, why won't they tell me anything? They can do anything, they've got the Elders standing with them and the Elders have control over all the magic. They don't care about us, Morgana, they care about themselves. They're keeping me here because it's convenient for them, they don't care about my opinion on the situation."

"It's not that, Merlin-"

"It's exactly that! You can't _seriously _be defending them!" Merlin snapped suddenly, and Morgana looked a bit taken aback. He muttered a quick apology before making his way back into his cabin, Morgana following quickly.

"I got so caught up in that I forgot to tell Michael about finding the spell," Merlin laughed.

_I__ already knew about the spell. I know everything that crosses your mind,_ Michael said, but left Merlin's mind before he had a chance to reply.

A smile lit up his face as he closed the door behind Morgana before a realization hit him. "Morgana... Where's the spell?"

"The what?"

"The spell, the one that I've spent forever looking for. I gave it to you, where'd you put it?" Her eyes began to widen in panic and Merlin felt himself start to freak, dropping to his knees and vigorously searching through all the papers. "Where is it?! Where did you put it?!"

"Mer-"

"No! Help me look, dammit!" He yelled at her, his throat beginning to tighten as tears threatened to fall in his fit of panic. "It has to be here, I just had it!"

"It's gotta be here somewhere, just calm down. We'll find it," Morgana reassured him as she helped him look for the paper.

"It has to be here! I can't have lost it!"

* * *

**so this chapter is super lame and not much happens but ill make up for it soon enough i promise**

**i love Michael hes so frickin sarcastic hes my fave aw**

**and the spell is missing ooooh snap **

**i like this story so much more than autumn leaves i like every chapter so far i just djnskskskskdkdk**

**-notreallymagical**


	46. WMU: Chapter 5

"Merlin, calm down!" Morgana yelled, beginning to feel a bit frightened at her friend's reaction to losing the spell.

"I can't find it! It's gone!" Merlin screamed, throwing books and papers everywhere.

"_MERLIN!_" Morgana screamed, her eyes flashing as she grabbed Merlin with her magic and shoved him into the wall, effectively shutting him up as he was held against the wall.

Merlin's first reaction was to retaliate, and his own magic reacted instinctively as he threw Morgana backwards. She hit the ground with a thud, and before he could even process what he'd done he was flying backwards through the air.

His eyes flashed again as he caught himself and got to his feet, and Morgana tossed a lamp across the room at him. He sent it flying away and did to her what she'd done to him by restraining her against a wall. "Are you finished?!" He yelled.

"Dunno, are you?" She responded as he released her.

"Fighting is going to get us nowhere," Merlin muttered. "Do you have any idea where you put it?"

"I set it on the windowsill when I went outside, but I already looked there and it wasn't there," Morgana sighed. "I'm sorry, Merlin, this is my fault."

Merlin shook his head as he stared down at his feet and the array of papers. "What's important is that we find it."

"I would help, but I'm not supposed to he down here too long. They'll want to know why I was here, and I can't exactly tell them that I'm helping you release their prisoner back into the world, can I?" Morgana laughed awkwardly. "I'll see you tomorrow, though. Hopefully."

Merlin nodded and forced a smile which Morgana returned before turning and exiting his cabin. As soon as she was gone, Merlin sank to the floor with a heavy sigh and ran his hand along all the papers scattered on his floor. He really needed to clean his place up.

* * *

Michael was surprised that someone was in his room, nobody ever came to visit him unless he'd summoned them. He was a bit surprised, but, honestly, he'd been expecting the person to visit him for a while now.

"What're you doing here? I haven't seen you in a long time," he commented without even looking up at his visitor because he already knew who it was. He could read thoughts and he knew who was coming before they were even in the room.

"Yeah, well, in all fairness, I wasn't planning on speaking to you for quite some time, so you're getting pretty lucky here."

"But you do speak to me," Michael replied absentmindedly as he stared at the ceiling.

"In my mind. Because you always butt into my thoughts. Which is really quite annoying, you know," the visitor snapped.

"I wouldn't have to butt into your thoughts if i wasn't locked in here," Michael muttered.

"You wouldn't be locked in here if you weren't such a conniving dick," the person shot back. "Speaking of which, you know Merlin's-"

"Trying to get me back on earth? Of course i know, I know everything," Michael said.

"Well, at least you're modest," Michael's visitor scoffed sarcastically. "And I think he's determined to do it."

"Why are you here?" Michael hissed at him.

"You know why I'm here. I want to make a deal with you."

"No."

"You don't even know what I'm-"

"You want me to promise you that I won't hurt them when I go back down there. No," Michael muttered, then found it necessary to add, "sorry that I can't protect Amber, but it's not my fault you have a crush on her."

He could physically hear him tense, and it took a moment for him to reply.

"So you're just going to kill them all off again?"

"No, of course not! Why would I do the same thing twice? No, I'm over trying to fuck them all over, but I can't promise that I won't hurt them. So no."

"How are you going to hurt them without fucking them over?!"

"Because I'm not going to do either deliberately. But it'll happen, and it'll be my fault, but I won't be the one to do it. And it'll hurt them all. It'll hurt you, too. Just a forewarning."

"You don't make any sense. Can you _please_ stop talking in riddles?"

"Can you _please_ stop taking like in idiot?" Michael remarked, mocking the boy's tone.

"I'm not an idiot, I'm two years ahead for my age," the visitor shot back.

"And yet you still don't know anything about how the world works. Look, kid, Merlin's gonna try to bring me back and there's gonna be consequences, and he's not gonna like them. It's gonna be my fault, but I'm not the one who's gonna make it happen. Okay? Run along, now."

Brodie stood up and clenched his fists, taking a deep breath before turning and storming out of the room.

Michael sighed, taking a longing look around his room. He hadn't looked at Brodie once the whole time.

He didn't need to, though. Nobody aged in Avalon. Brodie was still an awkward fourteen year old, and Michael himself was only sixteen and it sucked because Amber was two years older than him, and he figured this was what Brodie felt like all the time.

But nobody aged in Avalon, nothing ever changed. Being an angel was the absolute most boring thing Michael had ever had to endure, and he figured that even if he did get caught on Earth by the council, at least when he'd been destroyed, he could escape Avalon.

* * *

"It's no use, Michael. I can't find the spell anywhere."

"Are you sure Morgana didn't just get rid of it? She never did want me back down here, you know," Michael pointed out and Merlin sighed heavily in response. "Maybe we could-"

"We could do what, Michael? Make up a spell on the spot? It doesn't work that way, but I wish it did. And it's too powerful to incant, so unless we can find it, we're pretty much fucked," Merlin muttered. "It's gotta be here somewhere... It can't have just grown legs and wandered off."

"Just gonna go for a leisurely stroll," Michael laughed in a joking tone. A glare from Merlin that clearly said _you're really gonna make a joke?_ was enough to shut him up, though.

"Like you said, it's gotta be around here somewhere," Michael said, suddenly serious as he sat down next to Merlin. "How'd you find it the first time?"

"Well, for one, the papers were slightly organized," Merlin muttered. "It's no use, Michael! We're never gonna find it in here."

"Now, we're both of magic. I'm sure if we pool together both of our abilities, we can find it. First order of business," Michael said, and his eyes flashed a warm gold color like Merlin's did whenever he used magic. In the blink of an eye, the floor was cleared of all the papers, and a neat stack of about fifty books was piled against the far wall of Merlin's cabin.

"Wow, book cleanup. You really know some useful spells, Michael," Merlin said sarcastically, but one look at the smirk on the boy's face had Merlin reflecting the expression.

"Let's get to it, then," Michael encouraged, and Merlin obliged, doing his best to ignore the sinking feeling in his chest because there was no way in bloody hell that he was going to find the spell. It took him a month to find it last time, and he didn't think he had that kind of time. Aside from the fact that Amber would be graduating any time soon, and Michael could be caught down on Earth at any moment, time was a precious thing. It'd been a very long time since Merlin was short on it, though. He usually had more than enough time on his hands and nothing to do with it. Now he had too much, and he hated the stress.

Merlin's hand eventually brushed Michael's accidentally, and he sighed heavily when the boy disappeared, because whenever Merlin accidentally (and sometimes not-accidentally, but Michael didn't know that) sent him away, he never came back. Too lazy, probably.

_I resent that, sir._

_Get out, Michae_l, Merlin sighed and sent Michael off. He felt bad for Amber and Sara and Brodie because they had no choice but to listen to Michael's ramblings on and irritating remarks, whereas Merlin and Morgana could just send him away because, much to Michael's dismay, they were more powerful than him. Except telepathy, of course, but the only thing the two of them weren't capable of was entering his mind. At least, Merlin wasn't. He could push Michael out, but he couldn't keep him out, and he couldn't enter his thoughts. Everything else, though, was fair game, and it was about the only fun Merlin had in his middle of nowhere cabin.

Merlin, Michael and Morgana often had magic duels to see who was best, in which Morgana would usually sing the _anything-you-can-do-I-can-do-better-I-can-do-anyth ing-better-than-you_ song and constantly compared the three of them to Charmed- She said Michael was more-or-less the Piper of the group, because all Michael did was thought-read and all Piper could do was freeze things, and "_honest to God, who would want that?_" Michael argued that it was a pretty cool power, to which Morgana remarked, "likewise you would." Michael then said thought-reading wasn't the only power he had, but it was a muttered remark and Morgana hadn't caught it. Then Merlin asked who she would be, and Morgana claimed she was Phoebe, since Phoebe could see the future, and she herself was a seer, to which Merlin laughed and said, "or you'd be Prue, because you're both dead." He regretted it instantly, though, when his trousers ended up on top of a tree. Two reasons, Morgana had said. One, _would you like to join me in the afterlife, Emrys?_ And, two, never joke about Prue's death.

So Merlin was left being Prue, Michael was Piper (which Morgana still wasn't pleased that he wasn't angry about), and Morgana was Phoebe. But what surprised Merlin most about it was that Michael Richards watched Charmed. And that nobody commented on the fact that Merlin himself watched Charmed. He didn't say anything about it, though.

As he dropped onto his bed, face landing in the pillow, he let out a long groan. Nothing was going right, nothing ever really went right in Merlin's life. He waited for years for Arthur to return, and when he finally came back, how long did they have together? A few months? A lifetime wouldn't be enough time, and here he was, sitting alone while Arthur was across the world. He could see her, he could, but doing so would probably result in both of their dooms.

If only there was some way to make the world forget him... Some way to have everyone forget what happened and let him come back to her. But that couldn't happen. A spell like that, one that would affect every single person in the world, it would require power beyond even Merlin.

And for the first time in a long time, Merlin felt completely, utterly hopeless.

* * *

Guinevere stood outside the doors to the council chambers. She knew she was late for the meeting and that Kilgharrah would not be pleased about it, and she wasn't looking forward to his reaction to her coming in late.

She took a deep breath before throwing open the massive doors and silently walking to her seat, trying her best to ignore everyone staring at her.

"You're late," Kilgharrah commented.

"I apologize," Gwen said with a nervous smile.

To her surprise, the dragon only nodded and continued with the meeting. "Something must be done about the warlock trying to bring the Druid boy back to life."

"What's so bad about it?" Percival asked. "I mean, if he really trusts Michael, we should as well. I trust Merlin's judgement."

"He cannot be allowed to return!" Kilgharrah snarled, glaring down at the knight.

"I agree," Gwaine spoke up and Gwen shot him a glare.

"We must do something to stop the warlock from bringing back the Druid," Kilgharrah agreed.

"And if we were to do something, what would we be doing?" Gwen snarled.

"We would do something none of us are going to be too proud of, that's for sure," Percival muttered.

Since the majority of the council had died during the battle of Camlann, none of them had returned as the council was a one-time thing. Only five members remained: Gwen, Gwaine, Percival, Kilgharrah and Aithusa.

"He already has an idea of what he wants to do," Aithusa began, "and most of you are not going to like it."

As she described what Kilgharrah was planning to do, Gwen and Percival both shared looks of horror.

"You can't do that, it will tear him apart!" Gwen exclaimed, rising to her feet in defiance.

"It must be done!" Kilgharrah snarled back.

"Gwen, I hate to say it, but I think Kilgharrah is right. No matter how much this will upset Merlin, Michael cannot be trusted," Gwaine said softly.

"I don't care! Let Michael come back, let us all die! Damn us all to hell, I refuse to do this," Gwen yelled.

"Let's take a vote," Percival suggested, and Gwen slowly sat back down, not once breaking her glare at the stupid dragon.

As the vote progressed, Gwen realized she and Percival were going to lose as Gwaine agreed with Kilgharrah and Aithusa did whatever the older dragon did. And then it was agreed, they would go through with the plan.

No matter how much it would upset Merlin.

* * *

**this one is very short im really sorry**

**but ill make up for it in the next chapter with them setting the plan in motion i promise**

**cross my heart**

**awwww brodie has a crush on amber sorry i had to its just adorable it had to be done**

**obviously nothing is gonna come out of it because amber and merlin and the fact that brodie is kinda sorta dead but i just had to throw it in because id been thinking about it for a while and i realized i never really made it known but yeah**

**its kinda like when your best friends little brother has a crush on you (personal experience) and you love them as a brother and its kind of an innocent thing even though brodie's seen far too much in his sixteen (even though he was only alive for 14 of them) short years of life to be considered innocent he never really had anyone like no girl and that is because he liked amber he'd always liked amber (i did think about making him like gay or bi though but then i was like nah) (he was originally going to be asexual but then i was like eh why not)**

**he didn't love her it was just a bit of a crush u know and when she fell in love with merlin you could see back in autumn leaves in the 10-15 chapter range he got really mad at her a lot but never stayed mad its because he had a crush on her but he could tell that she loved merlin and it just kinda made him sad u know idk obviously he knew that even without merlin there he didnt have a chance being 2 years younger than her and all and he didnt even think anyone knew and he was super shocked when michael said it because he'd covered it so well but ofc michael knew michael knows all**

**and what do you guys think the plan is? ill say now a lot of you guys are probably gonna murder me in my sleep for it im sorry**

**deal with it**

**oh hey i also posted the playlist for this so u can all go to 8tracks jennax/autumn-leaves and listen to it theres 21 songs on it i believe and the picture is michael and amber when they were kids so yeah all the songs are mostly for autumn leaves but some of them like long live and time of our lives are for them both and heres a list of the songs and who each one is like dedicated to or like the reason the song is on the playlist idk here**

**autumn leaves - ed sheeran - title track (what the story was based on/inspired by)**

**arms - christina perri - merlin & amber**

**read all about it (part 3) - emeli sande - everybody basically**

**long live - taylor swift - also everybody**

**bones - lewis watson - amber and merlin aw**

**fix you - coldplay - idk its not really for anyone it fit like they all needed to be fixed in a way**

**youth - daughter - amber & michael**

**this aint goodbye - train - merlin (post-"death")**

**tomorrow will be kinder - the secret sisters - amber i think**

**king and lionheart - of monsters and men - amber and merlin but its backwards lol**

**demons - imagine dragons - merlin? idk**

**just a game - birdy - everyone in the "resistance"**

**mordred's lullaby - heather dale - michael obviously**

**run boy run - woodkid - i put in on here for brodie mostly but you could kinda make it for merlin or michael if you read between the lines**

**a thousand years - christina perri - merlin & amber to a T**

**unwell - matchbox 20 - michael but its only really the one line of "im not crazy im just a little unwell/impaired" and you'll see why pretty soon its explained in chapters seven and eight i believe (yes i have them written)**

**reminder - mumford and sons - merlin (post-"death")**

**iris - sleeping with sirens - mostly for amber post-merlin's "death"**

**time of our lives - tyrone wells - everyone post-wmu**

**wake me up - ed sheeran - I DID A THING I MADE THE PLAYLIST START WITH AUTUMN LEAVES AND END WITH WAKE ME UP DO U GET IT BC THE STORIES ARE AL THEN WMU I DID A THING GUYS LIKE IT STARTS WITH THE FIRST STORY AND GOES THROUGH IT AND ITS LIKE FORESHADOWING OR LIKE AN EPILOGUE/PROLOGUE THING IDK I LIKE THAT PART but yeah its the wmu title track (even though it has absolutely nothiing to do with wmu at all its just like a cute title and it was either call the story "wake me up" or like "gold rush" or some shit idk ed sheeran has some really weird titles)**

**so yeah you can listen to them all individually on like youtube or whatever or you can go to my link above (take out the space between 8tracks. com and put it in the adress bar) so yeah hope u like the playlist and are enjoying wmu so far its about halfway done!)**

**-notreallymagical**


	47. WMU: Chapter 6

Amber approached the door, placing her fist on it then taking it away a few times before finally working up the nerve to knock.

She'd graduated just a few days ago, which had given Sara the perfect excuse to avoid Amber. It was frustrating because she still didn't know why her friend had been avoiding her. She knew she was harboring a secret, but really, how much if a secret could she be holding? It couldn't be any worse than Amber's sometimes i talk subliminally to Michael Richards, no big deal.

The door opened and Amber came face-to-face with Sara. "Hi," she said with a smile.

Sara forced a smile on her face in response. "What are you doing here?" She asked her friend.

"I need to talk to you," Amber replied. Sara's face fell as Amber stepped into the dorm that Sara had yet to leave and closed the door behind her.

"So talk."

"You've been avoiding me for weeks. What is going on, Sara Barkman?" Amber demanded.

Sara's face twisted and she covered it with her hands. "I'm sorry i didn't tell you!"

"Tell me what?"

"Michael..." Sara whispered, looking back up at Amber.

"What about him?" Amber asked, and Sara looked a bit shocked at how calm Amber was at the mention of the name.

"He... He can talk to us. To me. He's been talking to me. How has he been talking to me?!" Sara yelled.

"That's it? That's your big secret?" Amber laughed. "You've been avoiding me because Michael's been talking to you?!"

"Why are you laughing?!" Sara demanded, her face a mixture between confusion and fury.

"God, Sara. Naïve little Sara. He's been talking to me, too. Michael?!"

_At your service._

"That's him, he's here!" Sara gasped as Michael entered her mind.

_Congratulations, dipwad._

_Hey, shut up. Why didn't you tell me you've been talking to Sara?_

_Because i only spoke to her once. I didn't think it was worth mentioning. And I knew she wouldn't want you to know. Remember how you asked me and I said she'd tell you when she was ready?_

_So that's it, then? That's what I've been stressing about?!_

_You never were very observant, Amber._

_Okay, hold on, this isn't working. Come down here._

"Come down here?! Amber, are you nuts?!" Sara gasped, grabbing both of Amber's shoulders and shaking her as if trying to knock some sense into her. Amber batted her hand away and rolled her eyes as Michael appeared next to her.

Sara shrieked, jumping backward and nearly falling off the step. "How the hell did you-"

"Magic. God, you're all so dumb. Don't touch me," Michael told her. Sara's eyes were still filled with disbelief and panic and Amber was afraid the girl might faint.

"Please don't pass out, Sara, i don't want to have to go to the hospital," Amber groaned.

"How are you keeping calm about this?! Michael is alive, he tried to kill you! To kill us!" Sara screamed.

"Not alive, only visiting," Michael corrected.

"He's fine, Sara. He can't try and kill us because if we touch him he'll get sent back up there. He wouldn't risk it," Amber explained as she shot a look at Michael.

"But-"

"You irritate me," Michael cut her off.

"Michael!" Amber scolded. "I know you haven't been around for a pretty long time, but that's not something you say to someone."

"Why not? S'the truth," Michael rolled his eyes.

"So... You're not alive?" Sara whispered.

"No, sir," Michael replied with a smirk.

"So you're like a ghost, then?"

"I'm an angel, actually," Michael corrected. "I had it confirmed, and my official species is angel. And yes, that's why I look radiant. You girls and your radiant. That's the word Amber used, too."

"I'm not sure how to feel about this..." Sara muttered as she shook her head.

"Don't feel too much, I remember the day Sir Michael brought us back to Camelot and you fainted," Amber laughed at the memory. "Please don't do that again."

Sara shook her head again, slowly, her eyes not leaving Michael.

"Oh, for god's sake," Michael sighed as he noticed her staring. "I'm leaving, your friend is creeping me out."

And he was gone.

"Did i somehow end up high?!" Sara yelled after a moment of silence.

"No, that really happened."

"How often has that happened to you?" Sara demanded.

"Only once. He talks to me all the time, though. You didn't really think I passed year eleven because i was smart, did you?" Amber laughed.

"So you cheated your way through year eleven?"

"It's not like I had a choice, he'd give me the answers whether i wanted them or not. And it's not like I can kick him out of my mind. He comes and goes as he pleases," Amber laughed again. "It's really quite irritating."

"I can't believe you're so okay with Michael fucking Richards talking to you through your mind. After he died!" Sara yelled in disbelief. "You'd think after he killed the apparent love of your life, you'd feel a bit more anger towards him."

"He talks to Merlin! Merlin never talks to me directly, but I tell Michael to tell him things and he says he does, I don't know if he really does or not, though. I have to trust him on it."

"Trust and Michael Richards do not belong in the same sentence. Did you ever think maybe there was a reason he's always in your mind? Because he has nothing else to do in jail!" Sara suggested in a near-panicked manor.

"No, because Brodie talks to me, too. In dreams. Brodie's living with the council of Avalon, Sara."

"Michael's a sorcerer, he could be just making it seem like Brodie's talking to you when it's just a... A hologram or something."

"Whatever, believe what you'd like. If there's even a chance that he could talk to Merlin for me, I'm going to take it. And I don't care what you have to say about it."

* * *

Merlin was searching around his cabin for the missing spell when his door opened and a visitor stepped in.

"What do you want, Morgana? If you're not going to help me search, I don't need you here to distract me," he called without glancing over his shoulder at the visitor.

"Shame," and unfamiliar voice said, and Merlin jumped in shock, taking a whole shelf down in his panic. "Hello, Merlin."

"Gwen!" He cried, his smile spreading from ear-to-ear as he ran toward her and threw his arms around her neck.

"Hello, Merlin," she repeated as she hugged him back.

"How did you get here?!" He asked her as he stepped back.

"Council's portal. First time they've allowed me to use it," she explained, her smile faltering a little.

"What do you mean? Did they send you here?" Merlin questioned.

Gwen nodded slowly. "I have some news for you."

Merlin led her into the kitchen and they both sat down at the table. He crossed his hands on the table and nodded for her to continue.

"I'm not sure how you're going to take it..." She sighed, and Merlin began to feel worried.

"What is it, Gwen? Has something happened?" He asked nervously.

Gwen sighed again, reaching for Merlin's hands and giving them a squeeze as she closed her eyes. "I'm sorry, Merlin..."

"You're scaring me," he whispered, pulling his hands away from her. "It's not..."

"It's Amber," Gwen said. Merlin felt his heart rate start to accelerate.

"What about her? What happened?" When Gwen didn't answer, Merlin jumped to his feet and slammed his hands down on the table. "Dammit, Gwen, tell me!" He snarled as he towered over her, his panic overriding his friendship.

Gwen took a deep breath, her eyes filling with tears, before she answered.

"She's dead, Merlin."

* * *

Michael flashed down to earth in a state of panic. He needed to find Amber and tell her what had happened, and he had to do it fast. He'd most likely be sacrificing his life (again), but for some reason he felt a damn sense of loyalty to Amber, no matter how irritating it may be. 2 years ago he was trying to kill her, and now he was risking not only his life, but his entire existence, to help her. Quite the turn of tables.

He slowly began tiptoeing through the halls, making sure her father wasn't home and trying to see if she was home. Eventually he figured there was nobody home and decided to impatiently wait for her return.

An hour or so of stressful waiting later, he heard the front door open and footsteps walking inside. He ducked into Amber's room- the glory of being a ghost was being able to pass through anything you so desired- and waited again for her to come upstairs.

Finally she did, and he was on her instantly. "I know you don't trust me, but listen for a second!" He yelled urgently, and she jumped when he started talking because she obviously hadn't seen him there.

"Michael, what are you doing here?! My dad is downstairs," she whisper-yelled at him.

"I have information. About Merlin. And I think you'd like to hear it," Michael said, and Amber went from fear to curiosity in less than a second.

"What is it?"

"He's not dead. He's alive. He's been alive this whole time and he wanted to come see you, he wanted to so much, so much that it was actually irritating, but he couldn't because if he did they swore they'd kill you. He was protecting you by staying there and they didn't want him here because his face was all over the media and he was supposed to be dead! He wasn't even supposed to exist! But he wasn't dead, so he had to hide. He's been hiding somewhere in Iceland or something since everything happened and he was planning on coming back when the world had forgotten about him. You have to believe me that I wanted to tell you, I did, but they said if i told you, they'd kill me. Like, kill me so that I didn't even exist anymore, and I just couldn't risk that!"

Amber's face went from anger to shock to happiness to confusion to an emotion Michael couldn't even place, and she whispered so quietly that he barely heard her, "what changed your mind?" And it was so horribly frustrating because she just found out her boyfriend or whatever the fuck she was to him was alive, and she wanted to know why Michael had waited to tell her.

"Something's happened. You have to come with me," he told her.

"Merlin's alive... He's... I can't just leave. I want to see him, I can't disappear again..." She stuttered, and for a moment Michael was worried she would pass out.

"I know you're a bit intelligence inclined and all, but having magic gives me the ability to teleport, not only places but also through time. I can bring you there and back here without a second passing," he said. He didn't even have to wait for an answer, he could read her thoughts, he already knew what the answer was. And the question she was going to ask next. "Get packed, we're leaving as soon as I can get your irritating friend. And hurry."

Michael's eyes flashed as he transported to Sara's house, landing in bedroom to see her lying on her bed on her laptop.

"I know you don't trust me and think I'm evil and all that, but you have to listen to me. I've already been through all this with Amber and she's agreed. Merlin's alive and he's in Iceland I think, and he thinks for whatever reason that Amber is dead and i don't know what he's going to do, but we have to go," Michael said hurriedly. Sara stared at him with wide eyes, looking as if she were preparing to block a knife or something of the sort. He rolled his eyes, then clapped his hands. "Hurry up, let's go! Merlin's life and my entire existence depend on you, Sara Barkman. Will you come?" Of course they didn't depend on Sara, Michael just needed to say something to get her to come along. Because, if the council didn't kill him first, Sara would if she knew she'd been left behind.

"I can't just leave!" She argued.

"You're not going to pass a second in time, nobody will have even blinked by the time you get back. You guys all seem to be forgetting that I brought, like, twenty people back 1500 years. Now hurry."

She looked conflicted for a moment, and Michael understood why; a guy who tried to kill her showing up in her room and telling her to come with him to a different country wouldn't be very normal, but neither was magic and Camelot and being the reincarnation of an ancient villain. She should be used to abnormal.

Finally, Sara stood up and nodded.

"Okay. What'll I need?"

* * *

Michael flashed himself and Sara back to Amber's house- well, slightly down the road from Amber's house- to find her stressfully waiting for them in her car. It was running and she was clutching the wheel, her passport on the dash.

Michael stuck his head through the closed window- but the stress of the situation had made him forget to let his head through and he smashed it on the glass, then cursed, shoved it through and yelled, "We don't have time for that!" Once she'd gotten out of her car, his eyes flashed and in the blink of an eye they were across the world.

Michael looked around for the boy, but realized he must have flashed them all to the wrong place. He cursed himself because ever since his death, his magic had been completely out of whack and the only thing that was really working was his telepathy. He just couldn't do anything magic right. Of course the one time he really needed to flash to a direct place was the one time he flashed far away. It'd never happened before. Teleportation was never an issue for him. Until now.

"Right, then. Looks like we're going for a walk," Michael announced and began to use what little magic he could control to try and find Merlin.

"Why didn't you just bring us to him?" Sara asked him, and Michael tried to think of an excuse. His magic was all he had and he didn't want anyone knowing it'd been messed up.

"None of your damn business," Michael muttered quickly and began walking in the direction he hoped Merlin to be. Sara and Amber didn't press him, though, and they followed him through the trees.

It took about twenty minutes to find Merlin, and when they did, Amber lost it. Michael figured this was about her reaction to when Michael'd brought them all back to Camelot and he'd taken Merlin and beaten him to a pulp. He almost felt bad, but then he decided he didn't and the feeling went away. Well, it kind of went away.

"What did he do?!" She screamed, dropping to his side and frantically checking him for a pulse.

"Looks like an overdose," Michael said, and he caught Sara giving him a look out of the corner of his eye. She suspected something, clearly, because how could he so obviously tell what an overdose looked like? _Maybe I just have a lot of knowledge of the subject, Barkman. What's it to you, anyway?_

"His heartbeat is slowing!" Amber announced as she did whatever the hell she was doing to try to keep him alive. She should know that overdose isn't something you can cure with your bare hands. "Michael, you have magic, do something!"

Michael began to panic, he couldn't do anything! Probably he'd try and only end up making it worse because him and his magic weren't on particularly good terms lately. How could he not do anything and not look like he wanted Merlin to die? How could he explain that his magic just wasn't working? How could he tell them that the only thing he had left was leaving him?

"Morgana's his guardian, she should be here straight away..." He whispered nervously, his eyes darting around the clearing just waiting for her to make an appearance.

"She's not here, Michael! Do something!" Sara screamed at him.

Michael shook his head. "I'm going to go find her," he muttered, hoping his magic would cooperate and bring him straight to her. Lucky for him, it did. "Morgana! Merlin... He's tried to kill himself, he's dying, you have to come!"

The girl looked shocked at this, and was on her feet in an instant. "Bring me to him."

"Can't we use the portal?" Michael asked with a pleading look. Morgana gave him a confused one in return and her eyes flashed as the portal opened in front of them. They stepped through it together and emerged into Merlin's yard in the middle of nowhere.

"Morgana! Help me, please!" Amber yelled, and just as Morgana ran toward her, their location changed. As Michael looked around, he realized they were back in Avalon.

And he was busted.

* * *

**michael :(**

**i love him a lot you don't even understand it'll explain it to you in more detail in the next chapter and chapter 8, this is also only going to be about 9 or 10 chapters sorry :(**

**i dont even know what to say about this chapter it took forever and im too lazy to write a long note so yeah bye**

**-notreallymagical **


	48. WMU: Chapter 7

Brodie rushed down the hall, nearly breaking about everything in his path. Being in a completely magic-based place, he realized there was a few (and by a few, he meant a few) things he could do, and one of them was being able to sense presence. It was sort of like when you stay in a different country for too long and start to pick up an accent. The only real other thing he could do was wake up and not have to brush his hair- which was more than he could have ever asked for- and it wasn't even him doing that, it was the place he was residing. Avalon was awesome in the fact that, since they were all dead, they were literal angels, or, that's what Michael had told Tegan and Tegan had told him. And angels apparently had some standard to uphold or something, because he'd realized after he died that he looked like some Edward Cullen storybook character or something.

And being able to sense presence, Brodie knew that they were there. All of them.

"Merlin!" He called, turning a corner to see his friend who he hasn't seen in forever lying unconscious on the ground, Amber next to him. "What happened to him?"

"Brodie?" Amber breathed, as if she was shocked to see him in Avalon. After all, she never knew he was there. He'd never told her, he wasn't supposed to. She brushed the shock off, though, then turned her attention back to the dying boy in front of her. "He's overdosed on something, tried to commit suicide because he thought i was dead! Why did he think i was dead?! Someone do something!" Brodie felt his heart sink at this because he knew why Merlin thought Amber was dead, and he clenched his jaw as he glared at Michael because it was his fault. Everything always seemed to circle back around to Michael and Brodie just wanted to bash his face in.

_That's not very nice._

_Nothing you don't deserve._

Morgana placed both her hands over Merlin's heart and muttered a few words Brodie didn't understand, and her eyes flashed a bright golden color. He watched hopefully as Merlin's eyes began to twitch and his eyelids slowly opened. Merlin took a moment to look around, then his eyes settled on something and he looked even more confused than before. "You... Amber?"

The girl threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly and not looking like she was letting go any time soon.

Michael felt himself begin to smile but forced it away because no, he was _not_ happy for them. Two years ago, he'd wanted Amber dead. He'd wanted Merlin dead. He'd wanted them all dead, dammit. He'd wanted to kill them all and here he was with a perfect opportunity to do it, so why wasn't he doing anything? There was the downside to the curse being broken, because here he was, being happy for Amber and Merlin and _fuck my existence, because my life is done and I'm still getting screwed over._

After a while of them hugging and kissing and being all lovey and happy and just downright disgusting, they finally tore apart and Michael was grateful because he was beginning to worry that he'd vomit on the only clothes he had. The gray hoodie really was quite comfortable, and quite broken in since he'd been wearing it for two years. At least he picked his most comfortable pair of pants, too. Good thinking, Michael. He just wished he had a mirror, because with his magic acting weird he couldn't do much to keep himself looking normal. He probably looked like a hobo, and he really hoped against it.

_You don't look too bad, I mean, how bad can you really look? You are an angel and all that_, a voice said in his mind and swear to God he almost had a heart attack.

_How the hell did you get into my mind?!_ He yelled in his thoughts, shooting Morgana a worried and shocked look. Not even Merlin could enter his thoughts!

_You're not the only one with magic, Michael. And if you really wanted to kill us all that bad, I'm sure it'd have been done by now._

_You're forgetting. I did kill you. I could do it again._

_I'm sure you could. But you won't._

This infuriated Michael. Morgana acted as if she knew that Michael wouldn't kill her. How could she know that he won't kill her?! He glared at her, rose to his feet, and stormed off in the direction of his room.

As soon as he'd turned the corner, though, he was tossed right back into the mix. And, again, they were all transported. This time, to Kilgharrah's cave.

"You have all disobeyed the rules, and you must all be punished!" The dragon snarled.

"Why, because you made Gwen tell Merlin that Amber was dead?! Because I realized I had to step in and do something or else they'd both end up dead?! I apologize for trying to prevent these two from becoming Romeo and Juliet. Sorry things didn't go according to your plan, Kilgharrah, but if you play with fire, you're gonna get burned. You of all things should know that," Michael told him. The dragon shot him a glare, but Michael didn't back down.

"Weren't you supposed to be the villain in all of this?" Kilgharrah sneered. "Why have you decided to switch sides?"

"I died," Michael answered, and nobody said anything else about it. He didn't know how many of them knew about the curse, and he didn't feel like explaining it again.

"How have they disobeyed you?! All they wanted was to see each other, and I never thought I'd say this, but Michael did the right thing," Brodie snapped, and Michael stared at him in shock.

_Is it too late to do something evil?_

"The Druid was not allowed to travel down to Earth, he was fully aware of that, and it is his own fault that he is being condemned to this fate," Kilgharrah said, and Michael felt his heart drop into his stomach.

"What fate?" He asked, his voice shaking with nerves. The dragon looked down at him without a trace of remorse in his eyes, and Michael realized with a surge of despair what Kilgharrah meant.

He wasn't even losing himself, he was losing Mordred, too. The curse may have been broken, but Mordred was still there. He'd condemned two people, and probably everyone standing with him, to the same fate. But still, he was determined not to show fear. Stand tall, shoulders back, stare him in the eye. If he's going to get rid of me, he's going to have to do it while looking at my face.

_We can still stop this, Michael! You can't just roll over and accept defeat, we can do something!_

_Leave it, Morgana. This is my destiny. It has been from the start._

He looked up at the dragon, determined not to show fear. He'd die as he lived.

That was the only thing he was certain of.

* * *

Merlin watched as the boy slowly sank to the ground, and he could just tell that it definitely wasn't a painless death he was going through. Michael let out a yelp of pain and Merlin dropped down beside him. _And just think, Merlin, if you actually did kill yourself, you wouldn't be here to see me be vanquished. You should quite enjoy this, after all, I am the reason that you've been separated from Arthur for so long_, Michael's voice infiltrated Merlin's mind, and the warlock was surprised that he was able to form a coherent thought in the state he was in.

_It's okay, Michael_, Merlin assured him._ It's okay, it's alright..._

"I'm sorry... About everything," Michael whispered, and Merlin could tell just how hard the boy was trying to hold down tears. All Merlin wanted to do was tell him that it was okay to cry, that emotions weren't a bad thing and that nobody would think he was weak if he cried. Because everyone already knew him to be one of the strongest people they'd all met.

_Thank you, Merlin_, Michael's voice said in Merlin's mind, and they shared a look before Michael's eyes fluttered closed. Michael's final goodbye to Merlin, a private one that wasn't meant to be shared. Merlin knew what it meant, though. Merlin was the only one who saw the true good in Michael even when everyone else was against him. Merlin believed in him and he knew that it was all Michael really wanted. The thing about Michael, Merlin had realized a long while ago, was that he didn't _choose_ to be evil. It was chosen for him. His fate had been decided by someone else before he was even born, and it had stalked him since the beginning of his life. The constant nagging in the back of his mind, as if it were a fire dying to be fed. Something that felt like an addiction, that no matter how much he didn't want to give in, eventually he did. He'd have gone crazy if he hadn't. He was Amber's friend before because he couldn't understand the reason he felt so drawn to her, but in a reverse way that was slightly insane. For some reason, Michael had felt connected to Amber, but not in a way that he understood, and he mistook it for love. Then around the time Merlin arrived and told Amber about her destiny, it hit Michael, as well. And that was when he realized what had been happening, that was when the spark in the back of his mind expanded and took over the very essence of his being, and when he brought them back to Camelot.

That was what the council had done to Michael. And Merlin figured the boy'd had a worse journey than the rest of them combined.

He'd asked Michael about it one day, actually, to be exact, it was the day Michael had asked Merlin to make a deal with him.

_"I have a little favor to ask of you," Michael said, getting to his feet to stand beside a shorter Merlin._

_"Not a ch-"_

_"Now, before you say no, I think you really should hear me out," Michael cut off Merlin with a smirk._

_Merlin crossed his arms in response. "I'm listening."_

_"So, why did you do it? What's the point if you never even wanted to?" Merlin had asked after Michael explained the situation to him, to which Michael had been silent for a moment before answering._

_"Destiny."_

_Merlin hadn't replied to that, and to his surprise, Michael chuckled. "You know, that's what I said to Morgana right before i killed her. That one really got to me. Putting on a brave face is pretty hard when there's a dead person in front of you and you're the one holding the weapon. I hate getting emotional, over anything. I was pretty silent when you came into that room before i tried to kill you, and as much as i hate to admit it, I was crying. Just a bit, it was mostly internal. I thought killing all of you would solve my problems, but it only really made it worse."_

_"You learn after a while that anger is no way to deal with emotions. If I were to keep tabs on Arthur, you wouldn't have to worry about killing Amber because I'd probably get to her first. He did kill Freya, after all. The first time. The second was your fault, but you're another person I'm not keeping tabs on," Merlin had sighed, and Michael raised an eyebrow in his direction._

_"You tried to kill me, Merlin," Michael'd pointed out._

_"Only because I had to. I'd have tried to reason with you if you weren't completely psychopathic."_

_"Being a psychopath wasn't my choice. I'm far from my own person, and that's about the shittiest thing anyone could ever have to endure," Michael had whispered, and it was Merlin's turn to give him a look. "I had nothing against Amber. It was an old duel that wasn't mine, but it was one I was forced to settle. Have you ever been on your deathbed, Merlin?"_

_"More times that I can count," Merlin laughed darkly._

_"And you're still alive. Magic, my friend, is a tricky thing. Keeps you alive. I almost died once, when I was sixteen, i think. Tegan's the only two in the school who knows about it. But, since magic keeps us alive, I lived. When Amber killed me, my last breath was one to sustain my magic long enough for me to die. I was a monster, Merlin, and the small sane part of my mind was the one that did it. Every other part of me was like... I don't know, it was scary. I couldn't stop myself."_

_Merlin stared at the boy intently as he spoke, realizing that he was telling the truth._

That was the day Merlin decided that Michael Richards could be trusted. That Mordred wasn't keeping hold of him anymore, that he truly did want to fix his wrongs. And that's why Merlin had decided to help him.

Merlin didn't even bother to check for a pulse, because Michael hadn't had a pulse in over two years, since his death. And then Michael's body disappeared, fading to nonexistence. "He's gone," Merlin whispered, and Amber buried her face in Brodie's jacket. He knew he had to do something, because despite everything Michael had done, Merlin truly believed he was a good person. He had a pure heart and had just been misled by the need to fulfill a destiny, and Merlin, though in a different way, knew exactly how that felt.

* * *

"Now we must find out what to do with the rest of you..." Kilgharrah sighed.

Amber looked down at Merlin and noticed a panicked look in his eyes. "What?" She whispered.

"What are you doing?!" Merlin screamed frantically, jumping to his feet and ignoring Amber's question.

"You brought it upon yourself, young warlock. It pains me to condemn you this way, but-"

"You can't do this! We're the last trace of magic left in existence!" Morgana yelled, and it finally hit Amber what was happening.

"No! Please, no, it wasn't his fault! Neither of them knew what Michael was planning, Merlin tried to kill himself, he thought i was dead!" Amber screamed, tears falling freely down her face at a rate so fast she was surprised she could string together an understandable sentence. As she looked over her shoulder at Merlin, she noticed how different he looked over the course of just a few seconds. "Merlin?" She whispered to him, and it was Brodie who spoke next.

"It's happening again," he breathed. "The last time you took his magic, since he's using it to keep himself young... He almost died last time, you're going to kill him!" The redhead screamed at the dragon who Amber was regretting ever thinking was good.

"It has been done-" Kilgharrah started, but was interrupted as three figures materialized into the cave. Amber, Brodie and Sara stared at the new visitors in shock, Morgana looked appalled, and Merlin looked as if he was fighting to hold onto what small bit of sanity he had left.

"Welcome," Kilgharrah greeted the three rather old strangers. Two men, one woman, and Amber recognized none of them. They all wore long, worn black capes with hoods over their heads and heads bowed, and looked more ancient than the dragon standing before them. Amber was hit with a sudden realization of what was happening.

These were the elders.

* * *

**am i supposed to write a note because im crying too hard atm**

**no but seriously i love michael so much and the next chapter is going to be digging a bit deeper into his past and his character and why hes evil and all that **

**i know ive been making michael look like a total douchebag but thats the point hes a complete ass but its not his fault so if you hate him just remember that it is not at all his fault hes just a victim**

**so yeah i love michael and im already working on the story to come after this so keep an eye out!**

**-notreallymagical**


	49. Chapter 49

_They say that when you die, your entire life comes back to you in flashbacks. I can tell you firsthand that it's true._

_Well, when you die after you die. When your afterlife ends. Because it doesn't happen when you die on earth. It happens when you die in the place you go after earth. For me, that place was Avalon._

_And it's not your entire life, just the important parts. The parts that make you who you are. They play through your mind like a movie, and as you watch you kind of forget about the pain and focus on you._

_My name is Michael Richards. And this is the story of my life._

_Well, I lived a fairly decent life up until i was about six. That's when I started to get angry over the slightest provocation, to think of things i probably shouldn't have been thinking of at only six-ish years old. I was enrolled in anger management classes at only eight years old, and when I was eleven, my family moved to Los Angeles. Well, my adoptive family. I quit anger management when I moved, and it started to calm down a bit for me._

_Then I turned fourteen._

_On the night of my fourteenth birthday, I had a dream. A strange dream, one I'd never had before. I was living in medieval times, I don't know why, but I was. And there was someone else with me, a few people, actually. I remember them being friends for a while. I mean, my dreams usually took a storyline form._

_Then, around the time Miles Wyatt enrolled in my school, the friends in my dreams became enemies, and enemies became allies. My anger problems started up again, and for some reason, I was filled with a hatred i just couldn't explain. I'd always been an angry kid, but I never really hated anything. And after Miles showed up, everything that used to make me happy just faltered, and everything around me was shrouded in a darkness that, to be honest, scared the shit out of me._

_I never wanted to be evil. I had my life chosen for me. It wasn't fair. I didn't even have a say in the matter._

_It drove me crazy for the longest time. I spent a good month avoiding humanity, going to school when I had to, then going and locking myself back up in my dorm. My roommate suggested i see a doctor for depression, but I told him he was being ridiculous._

_But he was right, I was depressed. I'd been depressed for years. Dying doesn't heal scars, I'll tell you that._

_Because i always wore long sleeves, even though I lived in LA. Every single day._

_Tegan found me unconscious on the floor of my dorm, I still don't know how he reacted. I still to this day wish he'd have just let me die, because if he had, everyone i killed would still be alive. He saved my life, and in return I ended his. I guess it wouldn't have even mattered if nobody'd found me, the doctors said i took enough pills to kill three people, it was a miracle that I lived. Damn magic kept me alive._

_I never wanted to be evil. When I discovered that i had magic, I was about eight years old, and I decided that i wanted to be a superhero. I didn't tell anyone about them. Superheroes never expose their true identities._

_I cried myself to sleep most nights, and the nights i didn't cry I sat up ripping out my hair and trying to get a grip on my life. I just couldn't figure out why I felt so evil, so dark. I'd see them in the hallway and wonder if there was a way i could make their death look accidental. I hated them against my own will._

_I never, ever would have asked for this life. I would never wish it upon anyone. I think the best day of my life was the day I died. I did my best to kill them all, every one of their deaths made me feel such relief, and it scared me to death. I didn't want to kill them, but I had to._

_When it was all explained to me, how I was cursed to kill no matter what I felt, it was a massive load off my shoulders. I decided to devote my afterlife to helping them, Merlin and Amber. When I was killed, the curse began to break, and I was left feeling insane remorse at what I'd done to them. I wasn't Mordred anymore, I was Michael. And I could finally right my wrongs._

_So I helped them. I helped Amber get an education and I helped Merlin get through his depression like I (not really) got through mine._

_When I say not really, I mean it got worse as the curse broke over time and Mordred left me by myself to deal with the aftermath. I hate Mordred. Which is odd, because I am Mordred. But I'm Michael first. I hate Michael, too._

_I can tell you firsthand, though, that they don't prevent scars in Avalon like they supposedly do in Heaven. I wish I wasn't born with magic, then I could have gone to Heaven and not have killed people and not have hated myself for so long and not have wanted to die for the majority of my life. Suicidal since fourteen, problem child since the day I was born. That's got to be some kind if record._

_So, there you have it. That's my story. It's up to you if you still want to hate me, I wouldn't blame you if you did. I sure do._

_My name is Michael Richards, I'm the contrast in the story of the three, and this is the last story I'll ever tell._

* * *

Amber looked at the three hooded figures behind the group, realizing who the strangers were. The elders. The ones Morgana mentioned as the people who keep track of all the magic in existence. Thousands and thousands of years old, older than the earth and life itself.

One of them looked a bit like Merlin in a way, but different, too. She felt like she should recognize him for some reason. She glanced at Merlin over her shoulder to see the boy had aged more than the last time, and with the long white beard and hair he almost looked like Disney's comical interpretation of himself.

But Merlin recognized the stranger. "You're an elder of Avalon?!" he exclaimed, hardly aware of the fact that he was dying.

The man nodded, and took a step towards Merlin. "Indeed I am, son."

Merlin slowly made his way forward and softly embraced the man, and Amber stared at him in shock. That was Merlin's father?!

The man's eyes flashed the familiar gold color Merlin's did and Merlin was in his old, eighteen-year-old form as earlier.

As Amber scanned the other three faces, unmistakably recognizing Gaius as one of the men, but the other two were unfamiliar.

"One of the final triad has disappeared off our radar, and we have come to investigate the reason for the disappearance," the unfamiliar woman said. She looked younger than the men, but still just as ancient. Her face appeared late twenties, but her presence was thousands of years older.

"Nimueh," Morgana whispered to Amber as she noticed the blonde girl studying the woman.

"Kilgharrah, what have you done?" Merlin's father demanded. "They were the final three, the only ones left!"

"The fourth is coming, and he needed to be punished-" the dragon spluttered.

"Yes, but not like this! He needed to be kept alive!" Nimueh exclaimed. "The fourth will not arrive for seven more years!"

"Give the two their powers back," Gaius said, more softly than the other two.

Kilgharrah bowed his head, and instantly a look of relief crossed Merlin and Morgana's faces.

"I apologize, I was only doing what I thought necessary," Kilgharrah said, still bowing his head.

The four of them nodded, and Nimueh raised her hands to the air. Her eyes flooded a gold color and wind swept through the corridor. As it died down, a fourth figure was standing behind the elders, wearing the same black robe and giving off the same ancient aura, though it seemed less powerful with them.

As the person whipped around, seemingly in a panic, the robe falling off their right shoulder and sitting lopsided, Amber's heart stopped in realization of who was standing in front of her.

"What the hell?!" Michael screamed, his head whipping side to side as he took in every aspect of the cave. He looked at himself, wearing a floor-length, hooded robe. The front was buttoned up to about his stomach and the right shoulder was still off his shoulder and sitting on his arm.

"Welcome back, Mister Richards," Nimueh greeted.

"What-" Michael began, his eyes larger than Amber had ever seen them before, looking completely panicked. More panicked than Amber had ever seen him before. The boy was genuinely scared.

"Are you doing alright?" Balinor asked him, cutting off his question.

"I was just-"

"We apologize for the brief inconvenience, young Druid," Gaius said to the slightly crazed Michael.

"What is going on?!" Michael demanded, and Amber felt bad for him. He was probably on the verge of a mental breakdown or something.

Michael narrowed his eyes at her, then cast a glance across the corridor. His eyes finally settled on Amber's face and he took a few slow, stiff steps toward her.

"Is that you?" He whispered, scanning her face through narrowed eyes.

"It's me," Amber nodded, and then Michael did something that surprised her even more- Michael Richards hugged her.

When he stepped back, he looked over his shoulder at Nimueh. "So why was i brought back? What am I doing here? Is the fourth-"

"Seven years," Nimueh hushed him. "Not yet, Mister Richards."

"What's the fourth?" Amber asked, and everyone turned to look at her.

"You'll find out soon enough," Nimueh smiled, and as she looked at Michael the boy gave her an apologetic smile.

"So what is this, then? Our trial?" Merlin asked to no one in particular.

"Not exactly. Your verdict is innocent. This is the ceremony for a new Elder of Avalon to be named," Nimueh told him.

Instantly everyone's eyes went to Michael, and he took a step back shyly. "You don't mean-"

"It's your choice, Michael. You can join the ranks or you can remain here," Balinor told the black-haired boy.

Michael's gaze went from Balinor to Merlin to Amber then back, and Merlin took a few steps toward him.

"Do what you want, not what you feel obliged to do. Being chosen as an Elder is a huge honor, but you don't have to," Merlin told him, and Michael looked almost thankful.

"So, what'll it be?" Gaius asked, and Michael's head shot up to look at him.

"I have to chose now?" Michael breathed, and the Elders nodded.

Michael looked at Merlin, then his gaze trailed to Amber and lingered there. He continued to stare at her as he said, "I think I might stay here." Amber opened her mouth to argue and tell him that he'll never get this opportunity again, but his telepathy was apparently running strong because he cut her off before she could and said, "I don't care. Why go to a place with a bunch of old people when it's so much more fun here?"

"Well, Mister Richards, your arrest sentence no longer stands and you will be granted the ability to transport to earth without the risk of getting sent back by touch," Nimueh told him, and Michael looked shocked before his face broke into a massive smile.

"And, Merlin?" Gaius said, and Merlin looked over, and Gaius handed him a large sealed envelope. "We hope you enjoy your time with Amber, Miles Wyatt."

"I'm still alive?" Merlin breathed.

"We combined can manage it. The world will completely forget you ever died, and you can go on living as if you've been there the entire time," Balinor smiled at him, and Merlin ran forward to hug them both. When he stepped back, there were tears running down his cheeks and Amber walked to him and took his hand in hers.

"It's time we leave," Nimueh said, and her, Balinor and Gaius all shifted to stand together, then disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"Wow," Sara said, and Amber looked up at Merlin.

"Welcome back, Miles," she smiled at him, and he leaned down and kissed her.

* * *

Amber, Sara, Merlin, Morgana, Brodie and Michael stepped out of the portal and ended up in the field outside Los Angeles where they'd landed when Amber had killed Michael in Camelot two years ago. It was a bit bittersweet for Amber, just a bit.

"Where are you going to go?" Amber asked Michael, who shrugged.

"People can touch me now. I'm going to live my life!"

"Okay, first of all, you're an angel. Second, you're a sorcerer, and third, you can't age," Merlin pointed out, and Michael rolled his eyes.

"Am I really getting lectured about this from you, mister a thousand years old?" Michael groaned.

"Hey, at least I look like a normal human being. You're like, glowing. People are going to notice that you're, like, inhumanly beautiful," Merlin told him.

"Your girlfriend's standing right there, save the compliments for when we're alone," Michael said sarcastically with a smirk and Merlin stomped on his foot.

"You'll be alright, then?" Merlin asked, and Michael's lips formed a tight line as he nodded.

"I'll be fine. And I'll be visiting you a lot, so keep a key under your doormat," Michael smirked.

"As if you need it. You can just walk through the door. But do it and I'll have to kill you," Amber threatened.

"You can't kill what's already dead, Amber," Michael taunted.

"I'm sure I'll figure something out," She challenged, and they both laughed.

"And what about you?" Merlin asked, looking over at Brodie. "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know. I was thinking about seeing if I could get someone to put in a good word for me with the Guardians," Brodie answered with a hopeful smile at Morgana, who rolled her eyes.

"I'll see what I can do, kid," she laughed while ruffling his hair.

"So, what was that whole thing about the Fourth?" Sara asked, speaking for the first time. "The Fourth what?"

Everyone looked over at Merlin, who shrugged. "I don't know. I know as much as you do."

"But you said it. When Morgana saved your life, the first thing you said was _"there's a Fourth"_. You really don't know what you meant?" Sara asked, and Merlin made a face and shook his head.

"Not a clue," he said. "I didn't even know I said that."

"I know what it is," Michael chimed in, and everyone turned to look at him. "Me, Merlin and Morgana are the only three people with magic left, right?"

Merlin nodded slowly. "The final triad."

"The three," Michael said. "Merlin the First, Morgana the Second and Michael the Third. There's going to be a Fourth."

"Another sorcerer?" Amber asked, and Michael nodded.

"How do you know?" Morgana asked Michael.

"The girl, Nimueh, she told me. Telepathically, I mean. She said that in seven years, there would be a Fourth joining the Final Three. She called Merlin the First, Morgana the Second and me the Third."

"So, it's like a prophecy?" Brodie asked.

"I guess so. Wonder who he is," Michael mused.

"Well, I guess we'll see in seven years," Merlin said, grabbing Amber's hand with his own.

"I guess so," Michael nodded.

"Right, then," Sara clapped her hand together once and her gaze swept across the group in the clearing. "Let's get home."

* * *

**no this is not the end there's more coming its gonna skip ahead a lot though**

**MICHAEL BABY I LOVE HIM SO MUCH**

**MERLIN RETURNS**

**MICHAELS A COCKBLOCK**

**BRODIE'S AN OCCASIONAL COCKBLOCK**

**SARA'S A HISTORIAN**

**IM LOVIN LIFE RN**

**-notreallymagical**


End file.
